Oil prices plunge on US growth woes

Oil prices plummeted Wednesday to below $95 a barrel in New York as investors fretted about fresh signs of weakness in the US economy and tensions in Greece sent the dollar jumping. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate light sweet crude for delivery in July, closed at $94.81 a barrel, shedding $4.56 from Tuesday. The benchmark futures contract sank to $94.01 in intraday trade, its lowest level since late February. In London, Brent North Sea crude for July fell $3.06 to settle at $117.10 a barrel on the closing day of the contract. "The economic data from the New York Fed as well as the sovereign debt problems in the Greece crisis has everybody concerned about an economic slowdown," said Adam Sieminiski, at Deutsche Bank. The Federal Reserve's New York district branch reported manufacturing conditions in the region deteriorated in June, driving its index into negative territory for the first time since November 2010. Adding to the investor jitters was US inflation data showing May consumer prices were up 3.6 percent from a year ago, suggesting higher oil and commodity prices were finally being passed on from the wholesale pipeline. That marked the highest inflation rate since was October 2008 in the world's biggest oil-consuming country and heightened concerns that consumers will be forced to scale back spending as inflation eats into buying power. Markets were also rattled by the failure of eurozone finance ministers to reach an accord in Brussels Tuesday on a second bailout package aimed at averting a Greek debt default, sending the dollar sharply higher against the euro. The weekly US Department of Energy numbers, which normally set the pace of trading, were "overwhelmed by the economic data," Sieminiski said. The DoE reported Wednesday that US crude oil stockpiles slumped 3.4 million barrels last week, six times more than the average analyst estimate.