Crude price drops on ample supplies

U.S. crude price lost Monday amid speculation that stockpiles at Cushing, the delivery point for the U.S. crude contract, would extend gains for a fourth week.

The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release a report on the U.S. crude inventories of last week on Wednesday. Traders expected that supplies at Cushing would climb for another week amid weak demand.

Stockpiles at the hub have increased for three weeks, as a fire has shut down a refinery in Kansas since July 29, which used supplies from Cushing. For the week ended Aug. 15, supplies at Cushing gained 1.75 million barrels to 20.2 million.

Meanwhile, as the United States is approaching the end of peak driving season, which runs through Labor Day, Sept. 1, crude prices also retreated on the prospect of the dwindling demand.

On the economic front, sales of new U.S. single-family homes slipped 2.4 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 412,000, said the Commerce Department on Monday. The drop in July followed a sharp decline in June. The weak economic data weighed on crude price.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery moved down 30 cents to settle at 93.35 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for October delivery gained 36 cents to close at 102.65 dollars a barrel.