Futures Movers: Crude-oil futures slide in electronic trading

By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) ? Crude-oil futures fell in electronic trading on Wednesday, as investors reacted to news that Greece will head back to the polls by pushing up the U.S. dollar.

Crude for June delivery /quotes/zigman/2203144 CLM2 -1.43% ?traded down $1.24 at $92.74 a barrel. The front-month futures contract reached a fresh settlement low for the year of $93.98 a barrel on Tuesday.

Greece heads for elections as euro slumps

The euro falls after Greek coalition talks fail and the country heads to another election.

The losses were made in tandem with a rising U.S. dollar, as investors looked for safer places to park their money against the backdrop of European turmoil.

The ICE dollar index /quotes/zigman/1652083 DXY +0.20% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, traded at 81.301 on Wednesday, up from 81.286 in late trading on Tuesday when it notched its 12th straight session of gains to reach a January high.

The dollar hasn?t gained for such a long stretch since at least 1985.

Meanwhile, U.S. supply data released late Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute showed that crude-oil supplies rose by 6.6 million barrels in the week ended May 11.

The API data come ahead of the more closely-watched U.S. Energy Information Administration report due Wednesday morning. Analysts polled by Platts expect to see a 1.5 million-barrel climb in crude-oil stocks.

June heating-oil /quotes/zigman/2255752 HOM2 -0.49% ?traded down 2 cents at $2.92 a gallon and gasoline /quotes/zigman/2255635 RBM2 -0.40% ?for June delivery lost 1 cent to 2.93 a gallon.

Natural-gas for June /quotes/zigman/2199354 NGM12 +0.36% ?delivery bucked the trend, tacking on 2 cents to $2.59 per million British thermal units.

/quotes/zigman/2203144

US : U.S.: Nymex

Volume: 10,232

May 16, 2012 1:08a

/quotes/zigman/1652083

US : U.S.: ICE Futures U.S.

Volume: 0.00

May 16, 2012 1:08a

/quotes/zigman/2255752

US : U.S.: Nymex

Volume: 386.00

May 16, 2012 12:40a

/quotes/zigman/2255635

US : U.S.: Nymex

Volume: 372.00

May 16, 2012 1:08a

/quotes/zigman/2199354

US : U.S.: Nymex

Volume: 856.00

May 16, 2012 1:08a

Sarah Turner is MarketWatch's bureau chief in Sydney.

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