- Crude oil futures on the NY Merc post their eighth straight session decline on expectations that Libyan exports soon will return to the global market and a lack of disruptions to Iraqi output; August crude fell $0.13 to settle at $103.40/bbl.
- Brent crude earlier today extended losses into a seventh straight session, falling 0.5% to $109.62 and taking the price back below where it was before the Iraq crisis began almost four weeks ago.
- But long-dated crude futures remain higher: Brent for delivery in 2015-17 is up by 3.5%-4% on average YTD, and prices for 2018 and 2019 are up 4%-5%, reflecting an underlying belief that despite rising North American output, the global oil market remains beholden to several unstable producer countries.
- ETFs: USO, OIL, UCO, SCO, BNO, DTO, DBO, CRUD, USL, UWTI, DWTI, DNO, SZO, OLO, OLEM, TWTI