Oil Drops After Failure to Hold $50 Even as Stockpiles Shrink

  • OPEC boosts oil-demand outlook, yet group’s output increases
  • In the U.S., crude stockpiles have dropped six straight weeks

Crude Near $50 After OPEC Boost Demand Outlook

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Oil retreated to the lowest level in more than two weeks after a surge above $50 a barrel didn’t last long.

Futures slipped 2 percent in New York as support for the key $50 threshold proved weak. Even though U.S. crude inventories shrunk for a sixth week, the declines are seen by some investors as simply seasonal. While OPEC raised demand forecasts for its crude this year and next, a rise in Libyan production pushed the group’s output in July to the highest this year.