Oil fluctuates below $40

10:19, 26 August 2015

NEW YORK. KAZINFORM - Oil swung between gains and losses, staying below $40 a barrel amid speculation U.S. crude stockpiles expanded for a second week.

Futures were little changed in New York after rising 2.8 percent Tuesday. Inventories probably increased by 1.45 million barrels through Aug. 21, a Bloomberg survey showed before a report from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. Venezuela is seeking to promote cooperation between OPEC and Russia, the world's biggest crude producer, according to President Nicolas Maduro. Oil's decline since this year's peak in June has deepened to more than 35 percent amid a global commodities rout fueled by concern that China's demand will slow. TheBloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials including crude and metals slid to about 86, near Monday's close that was the lowest since August 1999, Bloomberg reports "The immediate consideration is ongoing volatility in markets generally," Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said by phone. "The longer the oil market spends down at these levels, the more likely the production cuts will come." West Texas Intermediate for October delivery was at $39.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 8 cents, at 11:44 p.m. Singapore time. The contract climbed $1.07 to $39.31 on Tuesday, rebounding from the lowest close since February 2009. Total volume was about 6 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have dropped 26 percent this year.

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