* Crude futures down almost 8 pct since Thursday's close
* Biggest two-day loss since early February
* Goldman, some analysts don't see Brexit impact on oil for
long
* Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) more worried about glut in refined products
(Adds hedge funds adding to long positions before last week's
crash, paragraph 9)
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) - Crude prices tumbled nearly 3
percent on Monday, with Brent hitting seven-week lows, as a
rallying dollar and market uncertainty over Britain's shocking
vote to exit the European Union threatened to sap more strength
from oil's rebound this year.
Brent and U.S. crude have lost almost 8 percent since
Thursday's settlement - the biggest two-day drop in nearly five
months - after the so-called Brexit vote sent global risk assets
plummeting and safe havens such as the dollar, U.S. Treasuries
and gold rallying. MKTS/GLOB
Brent LCOc1 settled down $1.25, or 2.6 percent, at $47.16
a barrel. It fell to a seven-week low of $46.69 during the
session.
U.S. crude CLc1 fell $1.31, or 2.8 percent, to settle at
$46.33. The intraday low of $45.83 matched a one-month trough
hit on June 17.
Market intelligence firm Genscape's report of a draw of more
than 1.3 million barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery
point for U.S. crude futures provided little support to prices.
Despite sharp intermittent tumbles, oil has maintained a
broadly upward momentum to post monthly gains since February.
Earlier, a global supply glut had nearly halved crude prices
since mid-2014.
"From a chart standpoint, I think that there may be some
shorter-term longs that need to liquidate, and I would think
with global volatility continuing to rally, their propensity to
liquidate is higher," said Scott Shelton, energy broker with
ICAP (LON:IAP) in Durham, North Carolina.
"The issue that may suggest that the majority of the longs
won't liquidate is that they are very strong longs as most of it
was accumulated below or around the $40 level in WTI. While
fundamentals according to the banks are still strong, there are
signs that the market's perception of the fundamentals may be
changing."
Hedge funds betting on summer gasoline demand raised their
bullish bets on U.S. crude futures just before the market's
crash on Friday, trade data showed.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and a few other research houses
sought to allay fears over the impact of the Brexit crisis on
oil specifically.
Goldman said even if U.K. economic growth suffered a 2
percent drop, Britain's oil demand would likely be reduced by
only 1 percent or 0.016 percent of global demand.
"This is extremely small on any measure," it said.
The British pound GBP= hit 31-year lows and the dollar
.DXY a 3-1/2 month high. The greenback's rally made oil and
other dollar-denominated commodities less attractive to holders
of other currencies. FRX/
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CHART-China's diesel & gasoline exports are soaring http://tmsnrt.rs/28KBh02
COLUMN-How long Brexit uncertainty reigns is key for
commodities, gold
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