Oil ends with biggest monthly loss since Dec '08

Crude oil futures dropped on Thursday by more than 1%, ending May with their biggest monthly decline in more than three years as bloated US stockpiles and weak economic data added to worries about the euro zone crisis, all dampening oil demand prospects.

Oil pared sharp losses of more than 2% in afternoon trading, after Dow Jones reported that the International Monetary Fund was considering a rescue loan to beleaguered Spain if it failed to bail out a big bank.
But an IMF spokesman later said the fund was not in talks with Spain about a possible financial report, though an IMF mission was going to Madrid next week for scheduled economic consultations.
"The latest series of US data has snuffed out recent silver linings that had kept growth moving, though at a slow pace, and Europe is imploding," said Mark Anderle, trader at TAC Energy in Dallas.
"Technical support has also vanished, so now you have a perfect cocktail for selling," he added.
Crude futures slumped to seven-month intraday lows after official data showed that US crude oil stockpiles swelled last week, hitting the highest level in nearly 22 years.
Oil prices trudged downwards earlier on disappointing US economic reports that worsened the outlook for global oil demand prospects, already dampened by the worsening euro zone crisis, and slower growth in China and India.
US crude oil inventories, excluding strategic reserves, rose much more than expected last week to hit their highest level since July 1990, US Energy Information Administration (EIA) date showed. That quickened the day's selling.
The euro sank in volatile trading against the dollar, touching a 23-year low against the greenback on concerns about Spain's banking troubles and weak U.S. economic data. In turn, investors pared their holdings in riskier commodities and equities assets.
In London, ICE Brent crude futures for July delivery settled at USD 101.87, down USD 1.60, the lowest finish for front-month Brent since October 4.
Front-month Brent fell 14.7% for the month, its biggest monthly decline since December 2008, after slipping 3% on Wednesday. Brent has fallen more than 21% from its 2012 high of USD 128.40 hit in March.
US crude for July delivery settled at USD 86.53, falling USD 1.29, and marking the lowest US front-month close since October 20.
Front-month US crude sustained a 17.5% loss for May, its biggest monthly decline since December 2008. It has dropped more than 22% from its 2012 peak of USD 110.55 struck in March.
Brent's premium against US crude rose as high as USD 15.99, but narrowed at the close to USD 15.34 as US government data showed that crude oil stockpiles at the US delivery point in Cushing Oklahoma, while reaching a new record, edged up only modestly from the previous week's levels.
Traders expect that the reversal earlier this month of the Seaway pipeline from the US delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma, to the main US refining center in Gulf Coast, will help ease the glut of oil in the US Midwest and possibly move US and Brent crude prices closer.
Brent's volume topped more than nearly 670,000 contracts, 23% above its 30-day average, ahead of the US trading volume of almost 612,000 contracts, 18% atop its 30-day average, according to Reuters data. EURO ZONE CRISIS
The crisis in the euro zone continued to dominate market sentiment.
"Markets have been fairly tight but it's all these euro zone worries that have really spooked the oil markets," said Rob Montefusco, a trader at Sucden Financial.
Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, warned that the ECB could not fill the vacuum created by the lack of action by national governments.
Spain's center-right government has so far failed to spell out how it plans to finance a 23.5 billion euro rescue of Bankia , the country's fourth largest lender. GASOLINE FALLS, JOBS DATA AWAITED
US gasoline futures closed the month at a four-month low, pressured by continuing weak demand, despite falling stockpiles.
US gasoline for June delivery expired and settled at USD 2.8250 a gallon, down 3.32 cents, the lowest close for front-month gasoline since January 24. Prices fell as investors ignored data showing US gasoline inventories fell last week to the lowest level since 2008.
On Friday, traders shift their sights to the all-important U.S. nonfarm payrolls and unemployment data for May to see if the economy's modest recovery is still holding.
US employers were expected to have hired 150,000 new workers during the month, after a disappointing rise of just 115,000 in April, according to a Reuters poll. The unemployment rate probably remained unchanged at the 8.1% level, the poll also showed.