Oil Drops Again with Asian Equities

Oil fell for a third day as U.S. supplies were estimated to be near a four-month high. Japanese stocks slipped and the dollar held losses as investors await a Federal Reserve decision on its stimulus program.

West Texas Intermediate oil slid 0.3 percent as of 12:46 p.m. in Tokyo, taking its decline since a June high to almost 25 percent. Japan’s Topix index dropped 0.6 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed with Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures. Chinese shares jumped. The euro added 0.1 percent versus the greenback and the Australian dollar gained 0.2 percent as the country’s bonds rallied.

Lower oil prices mean the Bank of Japan may be forced to tone down or abandon its outlook for inflation in a report this week, according to people familiar with central bank’s discussions. The Fed will probably finish its monthly bond-buying and leave its key interest rate unchanged, according to surveys of economists conducted by Bloomberg. Chinese industrial profits rose 0.4 percent in September from a year before, reversing a 0.6 percent drop in August.

Bloomberg

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