James Van Blaricum - Oil below $118 on dollar recovery, U.S. crude stocks

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil slipped below $118 a barrel on Thursday, as a stronger dollar triggered selling and traders focused on a build in U.S. crude stockpiles.
U.S. light crude for June delivery fell 40 cents a barrel to $117.90 a barrel by 0249 GMT, after gaining 23 cents in New York on Wednesday.James Van Blaricum

The May contract shot to a record high of $119.90 before it expired on Tuesday due to supply concerns.

But prices eased as crude oil stocks surged by 2.4 million barrels, double the forecast level, mainly from gains on the West Coast.

"The heavier crude stocks are the main driver for profit taking," said Tetsu Emori, fund manager at Astmax Co Ltd in Tokyo.James Van Blaricum

The dollar's recovery against the euro and falls in other commodities such as gold also undermined prices.

Cash gold extended losses in early trade after losing more than 2 percent the previous day. It fell to $903.30/904.30 an ounce from $905.50/906.70 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday. James Van Blaricum  (read more)

Jim Van Blaricum is an American entrepreneur, mostly in the oil and gas industry. Van Blaricum was born in Berrien Springs, Michigan to James Van Blaricum and his mother, Simonne. Jim Van Blaricum has gone on to be a successful businessman, creating several companies. James Van Blaricum invited the local journal to hear his side but they never came out or put forth an effort to interview Van Blaricum. “They never did contact me. I called them afterwards, and said in all fairness of hearing both sides of the story, why didn’t you contact me? They said that they did try, but I suspect that there wasn’t a lot of effort put forth because I was in the phone book. They said that they were going to publish my side of the story, so to speak, but they never called back. We never had any opportunity to correct what I saw as erroneous information.” James Van Blaricum at myspace.com
  (read more)