Oil extends losses to near $76 on euro concerns

By ALEX KENNEDY Associated Press Writer

SINGAPORE (AP) - Oil prices fell to near $76 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as investors weighed growing global crude demand against a fragile euro.

Benchmark crude for June delivery was down 10 cents to $76.27 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The June contract fell 43 cents to settle at $76.37 on Tuesday.

Crude traders have been eyeing how the euro reacts after European policymakers unveiled a $1 trillion debt bailout package earlier this week. Commodities priced in dollars, such as oil, become more expensive for investors holding euros as the dollar strengthens.

Oil has fallen from $87.15 a barrel on May 3 as the debt crisis undermined confidence in the euro, which touched a 14-month low of $1.2520 last week. The euro rose slightly, reversing earlier losses, to $1.2666 on Wednesday from $1.2641 on Tuesday.

Crude supplies rose less than expected last week, gaining by 362,000 barrels, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday. Analysts had expected an increase of 1.7 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

However, inventories of gasoline fell while distillates were little changed, the API said.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration is scheduled to announce its supply report later Wednesday.

Some analysts expect surging crude demand in emerging economies will help bolster prices.

"Oil market fundamentals continue to charter their own course, fairly oblivious to the incidents in Europe, as non-OECD oil demand continues to surprise to the upside," Barclays Capital said in a report.

In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil was steady at $2.1397 a gallon, and gasoline slid 0.16 cent to $2.1936 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3.2 cents to $4.163 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude was up 32 cents to $80.81 on the ICE futures exchange.