* U.S. distillate stocks, East Coast gasoline stocks rise-EIA
* IMF trims projections for global economic growth
* IEA says lower oil price proof of ample supply (Adds details)
By Jessica Jaganathan
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SINGAPORE, April 18 (Reuters) – Brent crude futures slipped below $97 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since July, as worries about global oil demand persisted amid rising U.S. fuel supplies and a recent slew of weaker-than-expected economic data.
Oil’s fall comes as part of a wider commodities rout triggered by data released Monday showing growth in China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, had slowed unexpectedly in the first three months of 2013.
Brent crude futures for June delivery hit a low of $96.75 before paring losses to trade at $97.32 by 0236 GMT, down 37 cents. Brent stretched its losses into a seventh session — longest losing streak since October last year.
U.S. crude futures fell 43 cents to $86.25 a barrel, after earlier shedding more than $1 to hit a low of $85.61.
“We’re just seeing an on-going adjustment to the weaker data seen earlier in the week … what we’re seeing is a price adjustment to an emerging outlook that supply is increasing,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.
“We saw last night, for example, that the U.S. domestic production is continuing to ease up all the time and the demand growth is not doing overall a lot better other than flat lining, so when you get a situation in commodity markets where you get into a surplus situation or a potential surplus, it often can have a large impact on prices.”
A report from the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration showed a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories, but an increase in distillate and gasoline supplies on the U.S. East Coast, which includes the New York harbour.
Stockpiles of crude at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for the U.S. oil futures contract, however, climbed by more than a million barrels, the data showed.
The EIA report follows a cut in global growth projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for this year and next.
The head of the International Energy Agency, Maria van der Hoeven, said the oil price decline was proof that the market was adequately supplied.
Brent prices have shed more than 8 percent over seven sessions, its steepest 7-day drop since September 2011.
“Particularly for Brent, we’re seeing an unwinding of risk premium related to the geopolitical situation and spot demand fundamentals are taking over,” Spooner from CMC Markets said.
He was referring to the ongoing standoff between the West and Iran over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme, which helped keep Brent above $100 for most of last year, and escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Oil prices were also under pressure given risk of political uncertainty in the euro zone, where Italy’s divided parliament begins voting for a new state president on Thursday, a crucial step towards resolving the stalemate since the inconclusive election in February and to carry on with fiscal reforms.
Investors seemed to shrug off news of Royal Dutch Shell declaring force majeure on Nigerian Bonny Light crude oil exports. The company said it was shutting down the 150,000-barrel-per-day Nembe Creek pipeline in Nigeria for repairs.
(Additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori in TOKYO; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Source: Reuters
