West Texas Intermediate crude traded near the lowest price in more than a month before inventory data that may signal the strength of fuel demand in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent was steady in London . Futures were little changed in New York after declining the past eight days, the longest losing streak since 2009. Crude stockpiles probably shrank by 2.5 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg News survey shows. Brent dropped the most in more than two months yesterday, erasing gains made since early June when Islamic militants seized the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. “We now get back to underlying fundamentals and look to the northern hemisphere summer as a driver of demand,” said Michael McCarthy , a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney who predicts investors may buy West Texas contracts if prices fall to about $101.50 a barrel. “One of the […]