* Oil, equities pressured by concerns about economy
* ECRI: U.S. economic growth index drops to 3-week low
* Coming up: Reuters oil price poll, Aug 25 []
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity to settlement)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell a third
straight day on Friday, tumbling to a six-week low and logging
a second consecutive losing week as dismal economic data and
bulging U.S. oil inventories kept investors worried about the
economy and the outlook for oil demand.
Concerns about the economy also revived risk aversion,
strengthening the dollar and pressuring the euro. []
U.S. crude for September <CLc1> fell 97 cents, or 1.3
percent, to settle at $73.46 a barrel as the contract expired
and went off the board. Front-month crude prices fell as low as
$73.19 intraday, the lowest since July 7. For the week, crude
futures lost $1.93, or 2.56 percent.
The new front-month October crude contract <CLc2> fell 95
cents, or 1.27 percent, to settle at $73.82 a barrel.
The front-month ICE October Brent <LCOc1> contract fell
$1.04 to settle at $74.26.
"(T)here were no surprises in today's trade as bullish
speculative positions continue to be unwound amid a big
contraction in economic optimism," Jim Ritterbusch, president
at Ritterbusch & Associates, said in a research note.
ECONOMIC WOES
Investors shed stocks in favor of safe-haven assets such as
U.S. Treasury debt and the U.S. dollar on mounting concerns
about global economy. []
A stronger dollar can pressure oil prices as money shifts
out of riskier commodities and also because countries using
other currencies must pay more for dollar-denominated oil.
Adding to economic jitters, a measure of future U.S.
economic growth fell to a three-week low in the latest week,
the Economic Cycle Research Institute said. []
The ECRI report followed Thursday's data showing U.S.
jobless claims rose to a nine-month high last week and
mid-Atlantic manufacturing shrank in August.
Oil prices had already been pressured by Wednesday's U.S.
Energy Information Administration report that showed combined
U.S. crude and refined products rose to 1.130 billion barrels
in the week to Aug. 13 -- the highest level since the
government began tracking weekly levels in 1990. []
Money managers cut net long crude oil positions on the New
York Mercantile Exchange in the week to Aug. 17, according to
data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on
Friday after oil prices settled. []
RANGEBOUND TRADE
Oil prices have fallen by more than 10 percent from the
Aug. 4 high of $82.97 a barrel, returning to the $70-$80 range
they have been mostly confined in since last October.
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For a graphic on the technical outlook, see:
http://link.reuters.com/hes36n
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Oil prices received no lift from a report from industry
group American Petroleum Institute that U.S. demand for crude
oil and petroleum products rose 3.8 percent in July from the
year-ago period, though the report did peg gasoline demand at
virtually unchanged. []
The oil market also shrugged off a potential tropical
weather threat brewing in the Atlantic. A low pressure system
southwest of the Cape Verde Islands was given a 40 percent
chance of developing into a tropical depression over the next
48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Friday.
Various private computer weather models on Friday projected
the system would turn north before threatening the Gulf of
Mexico. []
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Emma Farge in
London and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; Editing by David
Gregorio)
