Record U.S. unemployment figures, rising crude inventories and a dismal global economic outlook dragged benchmark oil prices below $41 a barrel today. A market slump accelerated as the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans continuing to claim unemployment insurance for the week ending Jan. 17 was a seasonally adjusted 4.78 million, the highest on records dating back to 1967. A fourth straight week of soaring oil inventories also weighed on markets. Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $1.19 to $40.97 a barrel by afternoon in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 58 cents overnight to settle at $42.16. The U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration on Wednesday said commercial crude oil inventories jumped 6.2 million barrels from the previous week, almost twice what was expected. Overall supplies jumped to a 45.9 million barrel surplus, representing a 16% increase since 2008.
Oil drops below $41 as inventories swell
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