* U.S. crude oil inventories up 2 million barrels
* Coming Up: U.S. durable goods for May; 1230 GMT
* For a technical view, see here: []
(Updates prices)
By Emma Farge
LONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a third day
to beneath $76 a barrel on Thursday after a jump in U.S. crude
oil inventories outweighed the Federal Reserve's decision to
keep interest rates near zero.
A dip in European shares on Thursday also dampened sentiment
and reinforced the correlation between oil and equities. []
U.S. crude for August <CLc1> fell 68 cents to $75.67 a
barrel by 1150 GMT after earlier sinking to $75.55 a barrel.
Prices pared losses after euro zone industrial new orders for
April rose at their fastest annual pace in 10 years, data
showed. []
ICE Brent futures <LCOc1> were down 51 cents at $75.76.
"Monetary policy by the Fed and a somewhat weaker dollar are
not fully balancing out the weakness in oil demand in the United
States," said Eugen Weinberg of Commerzbank, citing high U.S.
crude oil stocks.
The Fed's decision is generally supportive for oil prices as
low interest rates tend to stoke oil consumption.
But the decision was also accompanied by bearish remarks
that the U.S. economic recovery is faltering.
This was born out in the oil market by data on Wednesday
showing U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by an unexpected 2
million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said.
The hike in stocks came despite the Obama administration's
ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico after the
crude oil spill from BP's <BP.L> <BP.N> well in April.
A U.S. judge ruled against the ban on Tuesday in a decision
being appealed by the government. []
[]
SUPPORT CUSHION
In a further sign that stocks will remain comfortable, the
International Energy Agency said on Wednesday that global oil
supplies will match expected growth of 1.2 million barrels in
daily oil consumption through to 2015.
But while sentiment was weak, some analysts expect $75 a
barrel to be a support cushion.
"The important psychological level is $75 -- if it drops
below there there could be further selling pressure," said
Weinberg.
Still, oil prices are over $10 above the trough of below $65
a barrel hit a month ago when the spreading European debt crisis
raised concerns about the future of regional fuel demand.
The market is expected to closely watch a tropical wave to
the south of Cuba that has a 30 percent chance of becoming a
tropical cyclone over the next two days, according to the U.S.
National Hurricane Center.
Storms could complicate the clean-up effort and affect oil
production in the Gulf of Mexico.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^See here for a graphic showing U.S. Gulf offshore crude output:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/US_OFSHRD0610.gif
Click here for a technical graph:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/WT_20102406082312.jpg
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Data out of the United States later on Thursday could
determine the next market move, analysts said.
Weekly U.S. jobless data and durable goods orders for May is
due at 1230 GMT and will offer further insights into the pace of
economic recovery in the world's largest oil consumer.
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by James Jukwey)
