Oil Posts Biggest Weekly Drop Since May as Storm Concerns Ease

  • Tropical Storm Nate not expected to reach dangerous strength
  • Crude futures close below key 200-day moving average level

Cushing's Toudouze Says Oil Markets Are Close to Balance

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Oil took a downward turn as concerns eased about Tropical Storm Nate’s threat to offshore crude platforms and coastal refineries while prices broke through a key technical barrier.

Futures slipped 3 percent in New York, bringing this week’s decline to the steepest since May. While BP Plc, Chevron Corp. and other explorers clearedBloomberg Terminal workers from the Gulf of Mexico and refiners in Louisiana braced for Nate to make landfall, forecasters don’t expect the storm’s strength or track to menace most energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, the U.S. benchmark closed below its 200-day moving average, a key technical level.