Oil down a second day on weaker U.S, China growth and U.S. supply worries

The price of oil fell Thursday as the impact of slower economic growth and higher oil supplies carried over to a second day.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery dropped 32 cents to US$99.42 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, an international oil benchmark, slipped 31 cents to US$107.76 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

On Wednesday, U.S. crude oil plunged $1.54 and Brent fell 91 cents after U.S. first-quarter economic growth of just 0.1 per cent disappointed forecasters who expected an expansion of about one per cent.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, was also a source of concern after a manufacturing survey issued Thursday suggested growth in the world’s second-larges economy was also weak.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Department said oil supplies rose by 1.7 million barrels last week. While the increase was less than expected by analysts, it still pushed the nation’s supply to a record 399.4 million barrels. In addition, gasoline supplies rose by 1.6 million barrels, whereas analysts had expected a decline.

In other energy futures trading on Nymex, wholesale gasoline fell three cents to US$2.94 a U.S. gallon (3.79 litres), heating oil retreated one cent to US$2.91 a gallon and natural gas lost 10 cents to US$4.72 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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