* U.S. crude stockpiles jump 2 million barrels - EIA
* IEA raises forecast for 2015 demand, supply
* Coming up: U.S. initial jobless claims on Thursday
(Updates with closing prices, details, adds trader's
quote)
By Gene Ramos
NEW YORK, June 23 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil ended down
almost 2 percent on Wednesday, as a big increase in domestic
inventories and a downturn in a broad array of commodities
diminished risk appetite.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency forecast that
crude supplies would be comfortable for five years, further
stoking bearish sentiment. []
U.S. crude for August delivery <CLc1> settled down $1.50,
or 1.93 percent, at $76.35 a barrel, after hitting a session
low of $75.17. It was the second straight day of decline.
ICE Brent crude futures for August <LCOc1> ended down
$1.77, or 2.3 percent, to $76.27 a barrel.
In early trading, oil tumbled to its biggest loss in two
weeks. But the market pared losses after U.S. government data
showed a much smaller build in crude oil inventories than that
reported by an industry group late on Tuesday.
The government data also showed improved demand for
gasoline and distillates over a four-week period, helping the
crude prices move off their early lows.
In the last 15 minutes of trading before the close, prices
fell back after U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers, at the end
of a two-day meeting, acknowledged a faltering pace of economic
growth and renewed their vow to hold benchmark interest rates
exceptionally low for an extended period. []
"Parts of the Fed's statement were clearly downbeat and
that created a quick selling pressure for crude futures," said
Tom Knight, trader at Truman Arnold, in Texarkana, Texas.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude oil
inventories rose by 2 million barrels last week, contrary to
analysts' expectations for a drop of 800,000 barrels. While the
increase was unexpected, it was far smaller than the 3.7
million barrel build in the American Petroleum Institute's
weekly report. []
The government report showed signs demand is improving in
the world's largest energy consumer. Gasoline inventories fell
by 800,000 barrels, with demand over the past four weeks up 1.2
percent over the comparable period last year.
U.S. distillate stocks rose by 300,000 barrels, against
analyst expectations for a 1.3 million barrel build.
Distillate demand, which includes diesel, heating oil and
jet fuel, is up by almost 12 percent over the past four weeks
against the same period last year as an improving economy
boosts consumption.
"The EIA's data on gasoline and distillates appears to be
bullish as demand is rising, though not as strong as what we've
seen at this time of the year two years ago, before the
economic crisis set in," said Mark Waggoner, president, Excel
Futures in Bend, Oregon.
On the broader economic front, data showed U.S.
single-family home sales in May tumbled by more than expected
to a record low. This stoked concerns about the pace of the
economic recovery, adding pressure on oil futures.
[]
From a six-week high of $78.92 on Monday, U.S. crude prices
have fallen nearly 5 percent to Wednesday's low. But they are
up about 21 percent from the $64.24 low hit on May 20, though
still about 11 percent lower than the 19-month peak of $87.15
hit on May 3, before the onset of the European debt crisis.
MEDIUM-TERM OUTLOOK
The average daily global oil consumption is expected to
grow by 1.2 million barrels each year between 2009 and 2015
supply will largely keep pace, the IEA said in its annual
medium-term oil and gas report.
"For the next few years, the oil market is marked by more
comfortable spare capacity than envisaged last year, and the
duration of the current gas glut is set to last beyond 2013, at
least in some regions. Yet, we shouldn't be complacent," the
Paris-based IEA said.
Global production capacity was seen hitting 96.5 million
bpd by 2015 from 91 million bpd currently, but potential delays
to new deepwater oil projects following the accident at BP's
oil rig in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico may tighten supplies.
On Tuesday, a U.S. judge blocked the Obama administration's
six-month ban on deepwater drilling imposed in the wake of BP
Plc's <BP.L> Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but the White House said
it would appeal against the ruling.
On Wednesday, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he
will issue a new moratorium on offshore drilling deeper than
500 feet (150 meters) with stronger explanation why it is
needed, to meet the judge's objections. []
A tropical wave south of Haiti strengthened slightly
overnight and could develop into a tropical depression over the
next couple of days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
If the storm develops and turns north to head for the area
between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba, as
suggested by some models, it could disrupt clean-up operations
and oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.
(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York, David
Sheppard in London, and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
