Oil Falls a Seventh Day, Longest Run of Losses Since 2009

05 10, 2012 by Bloomberg

Oil was little changed in New York, halting a six-day decline that was the commodity’s longest drop since 2010, before a report forecast to show that first-time claims for unemployment benefits held close to a one-month low.

West Texas Intermediate futures reversed earlier losses as the euro strengthened against the dollar, bolstering the appeal of commodities as protection against inflation. Jobless claims climbed to 368,000 last week from 365,000 a week earlier, economists project a Labor Department report at 8:30 a.m. Washington time will show. Payrolls climbed by 115,000 workers in April, the smallest increase in six months.

“For WTI at least the drop might have been overdone,” said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt.

WTI for June delivery was 9 cents higher at $96.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:24 p.m. London time, having fallen as much as 73 cents to $96.08 a barrel. The contract yesterday slid 20 cents to $96.81, the lowest close since Feb. 2.

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