Oil mixed in Asian trade
SINGAPORE: Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade Friday as sagging demand in the United States, the world”s largest energy consuming nation, limited the market”s gains, analysts said.
New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, was up five cents to 83.75 dollars a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for June fell two cents to 85.65 dollars.
The market was weighed down by a report Wednesday from the US Department of Energy (DoE) which showed an unexpected increase in crude and product stocks, analysts said. The rise indicates weaker demand as the world”s biggest economy struggles to recover from its worst economic downturn since the 1930s.
Oil Dips Towards $78
SINGAPORE: Oil eased toward $78 on Tuesday, after hitting a five-week high a day earlier.
U.S. crude for February delivery fell 28 cents to $78.49 a barrel in thin pre-holiday trade.
It settled up 72 cents on Monday, after touching $79.12, the highest since November 23. Heating oil futures led gains in the oil complex as forecasters called for colder weather in the United States, the world’s largest energy consumer.
London Brent crude for February shed 22 cents to $77.10.
U.S. crude inventories fell last week as refiners drew down inventories for year-end tax issues and imports declined, a poll of analysts showed.
Ahead of weekly inventory data from industry group American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. government Energy Information Administration (EIA), seven analysts forecast crude inventories fell an average of 1.5 million barrels in the week to December 25.
Oil Dips Towards $78 was first posted on December 29, 2009 at 3:52 pm.
