* US jobless claim rise, slowed manufacturing pressure oil
* China's manufacturing growth slows, weighs on oil
* Coming up: U.S. June nonfarm payrolls on Friday
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity, changes byline,
moves dateline from previous LONDON)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) - Oil fell more than 4 percent
to below $73 a barrel on Thursday, its biggest dive in five
months, as weak manufacturing data from China and the United
States fueled concerns about faltering economic growth.
The pace of China's manufacturing growth eased in June to
the slowest in months as government took steps to cool the
property market and curb bank lending. The Institute for Supply
Management said its barometer of U.S. manufacturing activity
fell by much more than expected to 56.2. []
[]
U.S. crude for August delivery <CLc1> fell $3.30, or 4.3
percent, to $72.33 a barrel at 12:29 p.m. EDT (1629 GMT), its
biggest one-day percentage loss since Feb. 4.
Falling in tandem with base metals, gold and equity
markets, oil prices declined for a fourth straight session,
extending the 9.7 percent slide of the second quarter, the
first quarterly drop since 2008, as prices .
ICE Brent <LCOc1> fell $3.09 on Thursday to $71.92.
"I think oil is reflecting general negative commodity
market sentiment after weaker-than-expected China PMI data
overnight," said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst at Commerzbank in
Frankfurt.
"Weaker equity markets are also weighing on sentiment," he
added.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For a graphic on China's PMI versus crude prices:
http://link.reuters.com/duv35m
For a graphic on the performance across commodity markets
this year: http://link.reuters.com/hun72k
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Markets fell early, after China's official purchasing
managers' index (PMI) fell to a weaker-than-expected 52.1 in
June, the lowest since February, from 53.9 in May.
They extended losses after the U.S. government said initial
jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week. This could mean
weak June nonfarm payrolls data on Friday. A Reuters survey has
forecast a decline of 110,000, the first fall this year.
The ISM report also disappointed markets, as did data
showing pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes plunged a
record 30 percent in May to an all-time low. The U.S. dollar
index <.DXY> fell 1.25 percent and S&P 500 stocks index <.SPX>
was down 0.85 percent.
U.S. SUPPLIES
Oil prices came under pressure on Wednesday when the
government reported a surprise U.S. gasoline stockpiles rise
last week. [] Distillate stocks also rose more than
forecast.
Crude stockpiles did fall 2 million barrels, more than the
expected decline of 900,000 barrels and the government report
showed Cushing, Oklahoma, crude stocks shed 795,000 barrels to
36 million barrels.
Energy provider Genscape said on Thursday that stocks fell
285,000 in the week to Tuesday. []
The recent slip from record high storage at the Cushing hub
has helped narrow the price spread between the front-month and
near-month U.S. crude contracts, narrowing it to around 56
cents <CL-1=R> on Thursday.
After helping spark crude prices to above $79 on Monday,
Hurricane Alex hit Mexico on Thursday, sparing U.S. oil
facilities near its path. []
Companies were already restarting some of the 421,350
barrels per day of oil output, about a quarter of Gulf of
Mexico output, shut as a precaution. []
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Joe Brock in
London and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore)
