Crude Oil Declines Amid Gloomy Supply, Demand Fundamentals

Crude prices moved lower Wednesday, after the U.S. government posted a massive crude surplus and OPEC lowered its forecast for oil demand.

The Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories rose by 5.6 million barrels last week as demand for gasoline and other fuels continued to slide. That was more than twice what analysts had expected, and the total of 366.7 million barrels now in storage is the highest level since Sept. 7, 1990.

Moreover, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) said Wednesday that world oil demand would fall by 1.37 million barrels per day in 2009, up from its previous forecast for a fall of 1.01 million barrels per day.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 16 cents to settle at 49.25 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.