Oil slips towards $77 ahead of U.S. stocks data By Christopher Johnson
Nov 24, 2009 Make Money Online
Oil slipped toward $77 a barrel on Tuesday ahead of data expected to show crude inventories rising in the United States but trade was thin ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
A weekly report from the American Petroleum Institute (API) due at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) was likely to paint a bearish picture of U.S. energy demand, analysts said.
A Reuters survey of analysts forecast the U.S. inventory data would show a 1.6 million barrel build in crude stocks for the week to November 20, as production rebounded from Gulf of Mexico disruptions caused by Tropical Storm Ida.
U.S. crude for January delivery eased 11 cents to $77.45 a barrel by 7:55 a.m. EST (1255 GMT), after settling up 9 cents at $77.56 on Monday. London Brent crude was up 19 cents to $77.65.
With economic data due this week, including November consumer confidence and revised U.S. third-quarter gross domestic product figures later on Tuesday, and the minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting, traders will be scouring the numbers for signs of improvement in the world’s largest economy.
While oil is up about 74 percent this year, it is still down 47 percent from its July 2008 high above $147 a barrel.
U.S. crude and Brent futures have been oscillating within a tight range between $75 and $81 per barrel over the last month.
“The floor has been set by the weaker dollar/higher expected inflation theme, while the ceiling has been set by weak refining margins, lackluster demand (except for China), and a global economic recovery that is expected to be sluggish and has long since been priced in,” said Mike Wittner, global head of oil research at Societe Generale.
REUTERS POLL
A Reuters poll forecast on Tuesday that growing oil use would probably outpace the rate of new supplies in 2010, eroding the huge stockpiles of crude which have mounted around the world since the start of the global economic crisis.
The survey of 10 top oil-tracking analysts and organizations predicted oil demand would rise by 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) next year to 85.9 million bpd.
At the same time, the rise in production from outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and output of natural gas liquids (NGLs) from OPEC members is seen growing by just 800,000 bpd in total.
At 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT), the U.S. Commerce Dept will unveil its revised estimate of third-quarter GDP growth. Economists forecast a 2.9 percent annualised pace of growth, compared with a 3.5 percent rate in the first Q3 estimate.
Private weather forecaster WSI Corp said on Monday the U.S. Northeast, the world’s top consumer of heating oil, would have a warmer December than normal, followed by colder than usual temperatures in January and February.
(Reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Jennifer Tan in Singapore; editing by William Hardy)
–Reuters–
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Tags: American Petroleum Institute, API, Natural Gas, NGLs, Oil Price, OPEC, Stock Market, Tropical Storm, WSI Corp
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