Americas:Oil stays below $84 as US crude reserves climb
Write:
Madan [2011-05-20]
World oil prices remained below $84 a barrel mark in Asian trade Thursday after signs on US economic recovery were offset by surprise gain in US crude reserves.
Light sweet crude for January delivery was down 2 cents to $83.84 a barrel at 12.00 noon Singapore time while Brent crude was at $85.74 a barrel in London.
In other Nymex trading in December contracts, heating oil fell 0.1 cent to $2.32 a gallon and gasoline was steady at $2.21 a gallon. Natural gas rose 0.7 cent to $4.46 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Analysts said the black gold is likely to remain volatile amid stubborn fears over the impact of the eurozone crisis and simmering tensions on the Korean peninsula.
however a surge in U.S. stock markets Wednesday, which was fueled by positive signs about the U.S. economy, buoyed oil traders' hopes that demand for fuel will improve, they added.
Some analysts expect strong crude demand from developing economies and loose monetary policy in developed countries to push oil prices higher next year.
Markets in the U.S. are closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The US Department of Energy announced Wednesday that US crude oil inventories rose by one million barrels in the week ending November 19.
That confounded market expectations for a heavy drop of 1.9 million in the key energy consuming nation.
Oil prices jumped on Wednesday, despite news of a surprise gain in US crude reserves, as traders reacted to a raft of positive economic data in the key energy-consuming nation.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January, soared 2.61 dollars to close at 83.86 dollars per barrel. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January leaped 2.59 dollars to 85.84 dollars a barrel in London.