Crude Oil Officially in Bear Market, Integrated Oils Feeling the Effect

Crude oil officially entered a bear market today (defined as 20 percent off the highs) after the International Energy Agency slashed its oil-demand growth forecast for this year by nearly 20 percent. The US Oil Fund

is down 10 percent so far this month, now trading at the lowest level since June 2012. Oil related stocks are also feeling the effect, with refiners, drillers, and oil MLPs also down sharply. The crack spread, which measures the difference between crude and crude distillates and is a surrogate for refining margins, is also down sharply from its recent highs. Some notable names with their one day and month to date price moves; Alerian MLP Index

: down 1.85 percent today, down 14.31 percent month to date Hess

: down 2.52 percent today, 21.18 percent month to date Chevron

: down 2.16 percent today, 8.05 percent month to date Noble

: down .46 percent today, down 18.45 percent month to date Phillips 66

: down 2.82 percent today, down 12.68 percent month to date