Oil prices lower in Asian trade
Oil prices were lower in Asian trade on Friday following a rally overnight in the United States, but should remain high amid tight supplies of heating fuel ahead of the winter season, dealers said.
By Agencies |
SINGAPORE: Oil prices were lower in Asian trade on Friday following a rally overnight in the United States, but should remain high amid tight supplies of heating fuel ahead of the winter season, dealers said.
At 11:40 am (0910 IST), New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, was down 17 cents to $81.27 per barrel from its close of USD 81.44 in late US trades.
The contract had risen $1.47 in New York overnight as traders mulled pospects for US economic growth and assessed the outlook for winter heating oil supplies.
Brent North Sea crude for November delivery was down 34 cents to $78.63.
"Traders are starting to worry about the heating oil inventory in the US market," said Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.
"In the summer, traders worried about the gasoline level. Now, traders are starting to worry about the heating oil level," he said referring to the expected increase in heating fuel during the Northern Hemisphere winter later this year.
Traders focus on reserves in the United States because the country is the world's biggest energy consumer, ahead of number two China.
The US Department of Energy's (DoE) weekly report released Wednesday showed stockpiles of distillates, including heating fuel, unexpectedly dropped by 1.2 million barrels to 135.9 million barrels during the week ended September 28.
Industry analysts had forecast a rise of 1.3 million barrels.
At 11:40 am (0910 IST), New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, was down 17 cents to $81.27 per barrel from its close of USD 81.44 in late US trades.
The contract had risen $1.47 in New York overnight as traders mulled pospects for US economic growth and assessed the outlook for winter heating oil supplies.
Brent North Sea crude for November delivery was down 34 cents to $78.63.
"Traders are starting to worry about the heating oil inventory in the US market," said Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.
"In the summer, traders worried about the gasoline level. Now, traders are starting to worry about the heating oil level," he said referring to the expected increase in heating fuel during the Northern Hemisphere winter later this year.
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Traders focus on reserves in the United States because the country is the world's biggest energy consumer, ahead of number two China.
The US Department of Energy's (DoE) weekly report released Wednesday showed stockpiles of distillates, including heating fuel, unexpectedly dropped by 1.2 million barrels to 135.9 million barrels during the week ended September 28.
Industry analysts had forecast a rise of 1.3 million barrels.
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