Crude oil prices subdued following EIA report

29/10/2009

Oil prices traded at slightly less than $78 per barrel this Thursday (October 29th), as analysts maintained doubts about the strength of fuel demand recovery.

Benchmark US crude oil for December delivery rose to $77.56 per barrel by late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, an increase of ten cents as stockpile rises subdued market gains, reports the Associated Press.

The newswire reports that the contract had settled at $77.46 on Wednesday, following a $2.09 decrease in price per barrel.

Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that crude oil stockpiles rose by 900,000 barrels last week.

Consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report: "We feel that further price declines will be forthcoming."

It added that the bearish EIA report demonstrated some unusually negative gasoline figures.

Oil prices have fallen from the year-high levels of $82 per barrel seen recently and analysts may now be looking at the weak strength of the US dollar to predict oil futures.