Oil slip to $80 a barrel after big overnight gain
Oil slip to $80 a barrel after big overnight gain
AP
Singapore: Oil prices slipped Wednesday, 10 October, in Asia after rising sharply overnight on US government predictions that a colder winter ahead will help lift worldwide demand for crude during the fourth quarter.
In a monthly report, the US Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration estimated global demand for oil will be 1.8 million barrels a day higher in the fourth quarter than it was during the same period last year. The report follows a prediction last Thursday from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that temperatures in the US will be 1.3 percent colder than last year, although they’ll be 2.8 percent warmer than average.
Oil prices have been volatile in recent days as investors have debated whether oil supplies are adequate to meet fourth quarter demand. Some investors feel prices have peaked for the year and are due to begin a seasonal decline; others feel prices could rise again and set new records.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery shed 26 cents to $80 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midmorning in Singapore. The contract rose $1.24 to settle at $80.26 a barrel Tuesday in New York.
Traders are now looking ahead to Thursday’s EIA report on petroleum inventories.
According to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of analysts, crude oil inventories are expected to have gained 1 million barrels in the week ended 5 October, while refinery use is expected to have fallen 0.1 percentage point to 87.4 percent of capacity.
Gasoline inventories are expected to have fallen 300,000 barrels last week. Distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, are expected to have declined 600,000 barrels.
November Brent crude fell 21 cents to $77.28 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange in London.
Heating oil futures shed 0.48 cent to $2.1805 a gallon (3.8 litres) while gasoline prices slipped 0.72 cent to $2.0130 a gallon. Natural gas futures added 3 cents to $6.893 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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