U.S. crude oil futures fell under $100 in early Thursday trade, putting the contract on course for its steepest monthly slide in nine months, as concerns over weak demand rose while fears over supply shortages in the Middle East and North Africa waned.
FUNDAMENTALS
* U.S. crude futures for September delivery <CLc1> fell 80 cents to $99.47 a barrel by 0007 GMT, putting the contract on course for a 5.6 percent fall for the month - its deepest since October.
* The contract finished 70 cents lower on Wednesday.
* U.S. crude stockpiles fell more than forecast last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories rose less than expected, the Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday. [EIA/S]
* OPEC's oil production rose in July from June, a Reuters survey found on Wednesday, as a fragile recovery in Libyan supply outweighed fighting in Iraq and reduced output from Angola.
* The Federal Reserve on Wednesday reaffirmed it was in no rush to raise interest rates, even as it upgraded its assessment of the U.S. economy and expressed some comfort that inflation was moving up toward its target.
* U.S. crude oil exports reached 288,000 barrels per day in May, the highest levels since April 1999, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.
* Iraqi Kurdistan's attempts to export oil independently of Baghdad hit another obstacle on Wednesday, as a Turkish energy official and industry sources said the autonomous region's pipeline to the Mediterranean has been shut for the past week.
MARKETS NEWS
* The U.S. dollar held below a 10-month peak against a basket of major currencies early on Thursday, having soared at first on upbeat growth data only to have a dovish Federal Reserve take some steam out of the rally.
* The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave a rosier assessment of the U.S. economy while reaffirming that it is in no hurry to raise interest rates.
Source: Reuters
