Summary\n<\/p>\n
Large oil supplies, declining demand push prices lower
\nRefinery turnaround season will also cut demand for crude
\nBenchmarks gain for a second straight week<\/p>\n
(Reuters) \u2013 Oil prices dropped on Friday as worries about large supplies and declining demand outweighed expectations that the year\u2019s first interest-rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve would trigger more consumption.\n<\/p>\n
Brent crude futures settled at $66.68 a barrel, down 76 cents or 1.1%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures finished at $62.68, down 89 cents or 1.4%.<\/p>\n
Both benchmarks rose for a second consecutive week.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cOil supplies continue to remain robust and OPEC is reducing its oil production cuts,\u201d said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen an impact on Russian crude oil exports\u201d from sanctions.\n<\/p>\n
The Fed cut its\u00a0policy rate\u00a0by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday and indicated that more cuts would follow as it responded to signs of weakness in the U.S.\u00a0jobs market.\n<\/p>\n
Lower borrowing costs typically boost demand for oil and push prices higher.\n<\/p>\n
John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital, said future Fed rate cuts of a quarter of a percentage point would likely not boost oil markets because they would further weaken the dollar, making oil more expensive to buy.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Fed will have to be more aggressive than they have been,\u201d Kilduff said. \u201cWe need a 50 (basis-point increase) to boost demand. The Fed\u2019s action is not translating to growth for the crude market due to underlying market fundamentals.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the demand side, all energy agencies, including the U.S. Energy Information Administration, have signaled concern about weakening demand, tempering expectations of significant near-term price upside, said Priyanka Sachdeva, an analyst at Phillip Nova.\n<\/p>\n
Lipow also saw effects on the demand side.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe refinery turnaround season will further reduce demand,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
Refineries shut production units in the spring and fall for overhauls, called turnarounds.\n<\/p>\n
A higher-than-expected increase of 4 million barrels to U.S. distillate\u00a0stockpiles \u00a0raised worries over demand in the world\u2019s top oil consumer and pressured prices.\n<\/p>\n
The latest economic data added to concerns, with the U.S. jobs market\u00a0softening\u00a0while single-family\u00a0homebuilding\u00a0plunged to a multi-year low in August, discouraged by a glut of unsold new houses.\n<\/p>\n
Reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston, Stephanie Kelly in London; Additional reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Jan Harvey, David Gregorio, Leslie Adler and Marguerita Choy\n<\/p>\n
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