Investing.com -- Crude futures fell considerably on Wednesday amid a broadly stronger dollar, ahead of the American Petroleum Institute's weekly report on U.S. crude stockpiles nationwide.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for October delivery wavered between $44.11 and $46.26 a barrel before closing at near session-lows at $44.17, down 1.77 or 3.85% on the session. Texas Long Sweet futures have now closed lower in three of its last four sessions. Since surging nearly 10% above $49 a barrel on the final day of August, U.S. crude futures have lost approximately 9% in value. Nevertheless, WTI crude is up more by than $6 a barrel since touching down to fresh six and a half year lows on August 24.
On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for October delivery traded between $47.52 and $50.03 a barrel before settling at $47.62, down 1.91 or 3.86% on the session. The spread between the international and U.S. domestic benchmarks of crude stood at $3.45, below Tuesday's level of $3.58 at the close.
Energy traders await the release of API's weekly inventory report on Wednesday after the close for further indications on the supply-demand balance in U.S. markets. The report is delayed by one day this week due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday. Separately, Thursday's government report could show that U.S. crude stockpiles rose by 0.1 million barrels for the week that ended on Sept. 4. A week earlier, U.S. crude stockpiles rose by 4.7 million barrels, significantly above expectations for a build of 700,000. At 455.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories remain near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years.
Analysts expect demand to fall considerably over the next several weeks following the completion of the summer driving season on Labor Day weekend. U.S. crude futures are down roughly 45% since OPEC rattled global energy markets last November with a strategic decision to keep its production ceiling above 30 million barrels per day, flooding markets with a glut of oversupply.
Meanwhile, China's finance ministry said on Wednesday it would introduce "more forceful" fiscal measures in order to boost slowing economic growth, which is projected to remain at its lowest level in more than a decade during the third quarter. The measures include a potential tax cut for small business, as well as the allocation of funding for several comprehensive infrastructure projects. As part of the proposal, the ministry approved two railway projects worth nearly 70 billion yuan or $11 billion.
It came one day after China announced that its dollar-denominated exports fell sharply by 5.5% on a year-over-year basis in August, exacerbating concerns about persisting weakness in the world's second-largest economy. Imports, meanwhile, tumbled 13.8% on a yearly basis, producing a trade surplus of $60.24 billion. On Wednesday, the Shanghai Composite index closed 2.3% higher extending gains from one session earlier.
In April, China became the world's largest importer of crude with 7.4 million barrels per day, surpassing the U.S. by 200,000, according to the Financial Times.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, rose more than 0.45% to an intraday high of 96.42 before falling slightly back in afternoon trading. On Tuesday, the index fell to a session-low of 95.73, its lowest level in nearly a week. By comparison, the index reached a multi-month high at 97.97 on Aug. 10.
Dollar-denominated commodities such as crude become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.