Oil Little Changed After Smaller-Than-Forecast Supply Decline

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Oil traded little changed after falling yesterday as a government report showed a smaller-than- forecast decline in crude inventories in the U.S., the world’s biggest energy consuming nation.

Supplies dropped 1.8 million barrels to 342.7 million in the week ended July 17, the Energy Department said yesterday. A 2.1 million-barrel decrease was forecast, according to the median of 15 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.

“The overall picture is still one of relatively soft demand,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist with Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. in Sydney. “I think the fundamentals are fragile.”

Crude oil for September delivery traded 25 cents lower at $65.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:44 a.m. in Sydney. Yesterday, it fell 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $65.40. Prices are up 46 percent since the start of the year.

U.S. stocks declined, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipping 0.1 percent from an eight-month high in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34.68 points, or 0.4 percent.

The dollar traded near a seven-week low versus the euro as resilience in equities reduced demand for the relative safety of the world’s main reserve currency. It was little changed at $1.4219 versus the euro at 6:10 a.m. in Tokyo.

Gasoline supplies rose 813,000 barrels to 215.4 million last week, according to the report. Stockpiles of distillate fuel rose 1.22 million barrels to 160.5 million.

Brent crude for September settlement increased 34 cents, or 0.5 percent, to end yesterday’s session at $67.21 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe Exchange.