Crude lower as traders bet on supply surplus

Crude oil futures settled with a loss overnight as traders bet that weekly data will show another increase in U.S. crude supplies.

The expiration of the May futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange exacerbated the decline for oil.

May crude which went off the board at the close fell 2% to settle at US$55.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after posting gains over the previous seven of eight trading sessions.

June crude which became the front-month contract fell 2.2% to US$56.61 a barrel.

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