Crude slides on higher US inventories Crude oil threatened to fall below $100 a barrel for the first time in months as cautious investors dumped commodities and embraced the dollar as a haven. Oil prices have not been spared as looming elections in Greece cloud the future of the eurozone. Investors have sought US government bonds, adding strength to the dollar and putting corresponding pressure on oil, which is priced in dollars. Losses were cemented after the US government reported domestic crude inventories rose to the highest level in 22 years. The official US growth estimate was also revised lower on Thursday. ICE July Brent, the global benchmark, fell $1.43 to $102.05 a barrel, earlier touching $101.27, its lowest level since last October. Nymex July West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, tumbled 93 cents to to $86.89 a barrel. The Reuters-CRB index, a basket of commodities, fell 0.2 per cent. Why is it all falling? Risk appetite is down," said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity strategy at BNP Paribas. "Commodities will have to contend with that even though they have good fundamental reasons" for gaining later this year, he said. Highlighting short-term worries, Brent for imminent delivery fell faster than later-dated futures. The US government's weekly petroleum supply report showed that commercial crude stocks rose by 2.2m barrels in the week ended May 25, raising them to the highest level since 1990. The increase reflected a jump in imports of almost 500,000 barrels a day last week. Refineries helped prevent a further rise in stocks as they fed more crude into their processing units, preparing to make fuel for the US summer driving season. Meanwhile, US data revised this week showed domestic crude production reached 6.26m b/d in March, up more than 10 per cent from a year before and reflecting energy companies" use of novel techniques to exploit "tight oil" formations. Members of Opec have also increased output this year. The producer group cartel is scheduled to meet again on June 14. There are a large number of traders who view the oil market as a financial asset class. But the oil market is also a physical commodity with its own independent supply and demand fundamentals," Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York. "Those tell us that right now we have a global surplus" in production, which Mr Evans estimates is between 1.5m and 2m b/d.