Oil plunges 6% on unexpected inventory surge

Oil prices plunged nearly 6 percent on Wednesday after data showed crude inventories surged the most since April, reminding the fundamentals were still quite weak at the moment.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery plummeted 3.88 U.S. dollars, or 5.8 percent, to settle at 63.35 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. According to the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude stockpiles rose by 5.1 million barrels for the week ended July 24, the biggest surge since April, driving the total stockpiles to 347.8 million barrels, 9.5 percent higher than the five-year average for the period. Oil prices headed even lower after the Commerce Department reported that new durable goods orders fell 2.5 percent in June, the largest percentage drop since January, after rising 1.3 percent in May. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks were heading for the biggest one-day loss in three weeks on Wednesday and the dollar advanced the most against a basket of major currencies in almost four weeks, further encouraging selling in the commodities markets. London Brent for September delivery dropped 3.60 dollars to 66.28 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
VietNamNet/Xinhuanet