NYMEX-Crude ends lower, hits new 2012 low as rally fades

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Mon Jun 11, 2012 10:55pm BST

 * EU rescue for Spanish banks fails to ease investor worries
 * Expected outage of new Motiva Port Arthur CDU bearish
 * POLL-U.S. crude stocks down 1.5 mln bbls last week
 * Coming up: API weekly petroleum data, Tuesday
 NEW YORK, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures were lower
for a third straight session on Monday, and set a new 2012 low
in late trading, as an early rally on EU's rescue of Spanish
banks faded amid investors raising questions about the aid
package and focused on other troubled euro zone nations like
Greece.  	
 Leading oil producer Saudi Arabia called for an increase in
OPEC's output target, despite falling oil prices, further adding
to bearish sentiment in the oil markets. 	
 The euro fell against the U.S. dollar and equities ended
lower on disappointment over the Spanish aid package, to keep
oil futures under pressure. 	
 Also bearish for crude was news that an outage at a new
crude distillation unit at Motiva Enterprises' 600,000 barrels
per day refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, -- the nation's largest
-- would be offline for at least two months and potentially five
months, for repairs, sources familiar with operations said.
 	
 Ahead of weekly inventory reports, U.S. crude oil
inventories were forecast down 1.5 million barrels last week
with analysts citing lower imports in a Reuters poll. 	
 Distillate stocks were predicted up 1.0 million barrels
while gasoline stocks were expected to show a 1.5-million-barrel
increase, the poll also showed.	
 The American Petroleum Institute will issue its report for
the week to Jan. 8 on Tuesday, after the oil markets close.	
 That will be followed by the report from the U.S. Energy
Information Administration, due Wednesday morning.\	
	
  FUNDAMENTALS	
 * On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July crude 
settled settled at $82.70 a barrel, down $1.40, or 1.66
percent, after trading between $82.58 and $86.64. In
post-settlement trading, prices further fell to a session low of
$81.11, the lowest since Oct. 6, when front-month U.S. crude
fell to $79.08. The previous 2012 low was $81.21 hit on June 4.
 	
 * In London, ICE Brent crude for July delivery 
settled at $98 a barrel, dropping $1.47, or 1.48 percent, after
trading between $97.41 to $102.71. After settlement, it dropped
to the day's low of $96.48, just 85 cents above the year's low
of $95.63 also posted on June 4.   	
 * Brent's premium against U.S. crude was little changed at
$15.30, from $15.37 on Friday. CL-LCO1=R	
 * U.S. refinery product margins fell 4.3 percent on average
in the week ended June 8, a weekly report from Credit Suisse
showed.  	
 * China's imports of key commodities in May confounded
expectations of a fall, with crude oil shipments at a record and
both copper and iron ore imports unexpectedly rising more than
10 percent from a month again, data showed. 	
 * Inflation, industrial output and retail sales in China,
were lower than expected in May, the second straight month of
sluggish growth that galvanized policymakers last week into
reducing interest rates. 	
   	
 MARKETS NEWS	
 * U.S. equities fell as Europe's aid package for Spanish
banks did little to ease investor worries about the euro zone's
finances and the slowdown in the global economy. 	
 * The euro lost ground against the dollar and yen after
hitting three-week highs as Spain's bank bailout raised worries
that the country is being saddled with more debt and investors
were increasingly wary ahead of Greek elections. 	
 * Copper posted its biggest one-day gain in nearly two
months, buoyed by encouraging import data from top consumer
China. 	
 * Gold ended nearly flat after giving up early gains
following a retreat in U.S. equities due to fading optimism over
the European bailout for Spain's debt-stricken banks. 	
 	
 UPCOMING EVENTS/DATA	
 * American Petroleum Institute's weekly petroleum inventory
data. 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) Tuesday.	
 * U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly petroleum
inventory data, 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT), Wednesday. 	
 	
     SETTLE     NET    PCT     LOW    HIGH  CURRENT  DAY AGO
               CHNG   CHNG                      VOL      VOL
 CLc1    82.70   -1.40  -1.7%   81.11   86.64  319,367  304,641
 CLc2    83.00   -1.39  -1.7%   81.43   86.91   83,633  102,495
 LCOc1   98.00   -1.47  -1.5%   96.48  102.21  224,481  252,948
 RBc1   2.6566 -0.0286  -1.1%  2.6285  2.7523   57,527   63,209
 RBc2   2.5877 -0.0338  -1.3%  2.5592  2.6859   46,096   32,831
 HOc1   2.6357 -0.0364  -1.4%  2.6087  2.7428   53,047   79,963
 HOc2   2.6394 -0.0357  -1.3%  2.6127  2.7441   25,380   42,932
                                                                                   
 TOTAL MARKET            VOLUME                 OPEN  INTEREST
           CURRENT    Jun 08   30D AVG     Jun 08  NET CHNG
 CRUDE        608,183   687,726   563,287  1,454,551     6,834
 RBOB         150,870   138,213   148,754    297,818      -415
 HO           130,794   196,350   135,429    309,973    -5,864
	
	
 (Reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons; Editing by Bob
Burgdorfer)	
 
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