Oil prices slide as Europe witholds Greek aid

CRUDE oil prices fell yesterday, erasing Wednesday's gains, on speculation that Greece's referendum on a bailout agreement threatens to intensify the European debt crisis and derail the region's economy.Crude for December delivery fell as much as $1.64 to $90.87 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $91.36 at 4:20 p.m. in Singapore.The contract gained 32 cents on Wednesday, to close at $92.51, the highest settlement since October 31. Oil is down two cents this year.Brent for December settlement traded $1.25 lower at $108.09 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Brent's premium to New York crude was $16.73 a barrel, compared with $16.83 yesterday and a record $27.88 on October 14.United States (U.S.) crude supplies increased 1.83 million barrels to 339.5 million in the week ended October 28, the U.S. Energy Department said yesterday. That was more than the one million barrels forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg News survey.Gasoline stockpiles gained 1.36 million barrels to 206.3 million. The median estimate was a decline of 800,000. Inventories of distillate fuels, which include heating oil and jet fuel, dropped 3.58 million barrels to 141.9 million. The median estimate was a decline of 1.75 million.Oil was also weighed down by a report showing China's non- manufacturing industries grew at a slower pace in October. A purchasing managers' index fell to 57.7 from 59.3 in September, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said on its website today. The gauge includes construction.'We are a little bit cautious on China because it is going through a slowdown story as well,' said Selena Ling, head of treasury research at Oversea-China Banking Corp. in Singapore. 'People are trying to gauge how much of a slowdown we may see.'In Europe, leaders chose to treat Greece's referendum on the bailout package as an in-or-out vote on the debt-stricken nation's future in the currency union. The poll may be held on December 4, according to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.
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