SINGAPORE, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Oil fell for a third straight
session on Wednesday as the dollar jumped and Asian equities
fell on investor attempts to reduce risk exposure, while U.S.
crude remained depressed by brimming petroleum stockpiles.
FUNDAMENTALS
* U.S. crude for October <CLc1> fell 32 cents to $73.77 a
barrel by 0013 GMT. The front-month contracts pared losses on
Tuesday after an explosion at a refinery in northern Mexico
raised speculation that fuel import requirements would increase
from the Latin American country, the biggest buyer of U.S. oil
products. It had earlier touched a one-week trough below $73.
* European Brent crude for October <LCOc1> was trading
almost $4 higher than U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate
(WTI), shedding 42 cents on Wednesday to $77.34.
* The appearance of such an unusually wide premium is known
among oil analysts as WTI dislocation, a market condition where
the U.S. benchmark reflects high inventory levels at the
land-locked Cushing, Oklahoma, hub, where it is priced. It then
becomes disconnected from seabourne oil markets, where prices
are largely determined by global fundamentals.
* Analysts expect Cushing supplies will rise in coming
weeks as U.S. refineries enter autumn maintenance, reducing
their demand for crude.
* Summer maintenance at North Sea fields and a strong Urals
crude market have this time also contributed to Brent's
widening premium.
* Still, overall U.S. crude inventories probably fell for
the first time in three week last week, down by a moderate
600,000 barrels, as refineries reduced imports in preparation
for stormy weather, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
* Weekly industry and government statistics on inventories
will be delayed by one day this week, to Wednesday for the
American Petroleum Institute and Thursday for the Energy
Information Administration.
* The poll also showed forecasts for a 700,000 barrel
increase in stockpiles of distillates including heating oil and
diesel fuel, and a 900,000 barrel decline in gasoline supplies.
MARKETS NEWS
* Japan's Nikkei average fell 1.4 percent on Wednesday,
extending the previous day's losses. World stocks pulled back
from one-month highs on Tuesday, the euro tumbled and the yen
hit a 15-year peak against the dollar on renewed concerns about
European banks and the global economy. [] []
* The euro was on the defensive on Wednesday as the latest
scare over the euro zone banking system slapped it to lifetime
lows against the Swiss franc and Australian dollar, while also
boosting the safe-haven yen. The dollar gained almost 1 percent
against a basket of currencies. [] <.DXY>
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday:
- U.S. oil inventories from API; 2030 GMT
- U.S. mortgage market index; 1100 GMT
- U.K. industrial output; 0830 GMT
RELATED NEWS
* The U.S. National Hurricane Center was monitoring three
tropical systems in the Atlantic basin, one approaching the
Caribbean Sea and two near Africa's west coast.
The NHC said cloudiness and showers over the Leeward
Islands and northeastern Caribbean Sea were associated with
Gaston's remnants, but the system had just a 20 percent chance
to become a tropical cyclone again during the next 48 hours.
[]
It was too early to tell whether any of the systems might
move into the Gulf and disrupt offshore energy production.
(Reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa; Editing by Manash Goswami)
