Crude oil may decline next week as U.S. fuel stockpiles increase and refineries reduce operating rates because of weak demand in the world’s biggest energy- consuming country.

Fourteen of 28 analysts, or 50 percent, said futures will drop through
Nov. 20, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. Six
respondents, or 21 percent, predicted the market will rise and eight
forecast little change. Last week, analysts were split over whether oil
would rise or fall.

“I am expecting that prices will remain under pressure, specifically
led downward by products,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil
Associates LLC in Houston. “The current overhang of product inventory
is pressuring margins, resulting in lower and lower capacity
utilization.”

Gasoline stockpiles rose 2.56 million barrels to 210.8 million last
week, the U.S. Energy Department said yesterday. The gain left supplies
4.8 percent higher than the five-year average for the period.
Inventories of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil
and diesel, climbed 349,000 barrels to 167.7 million, 29 percent higher
than average.

Refineries operated at 79.9 percent of capacity, down 0.7 percentage
point from the prior week, the report showed. The average rate during
the first week of November over the previous five years was 87.1
percent of capacity.

U.S. fuel consumption tumbled 4.3 percent to 18.3 million barrels a day, the lowest since June, according to the report.

Crude oil for December delivery fell 49 cents, or 0.6 percent, to
$76.94 a barrel so far this week on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Futures are up 72 percent this year.

The oil survey has correctly predicted the direction of futures 47 percent of the time since its start in April 2004.

Source: Bloomberg

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