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Oil price trading around $77 amid mixed crude demand signs
Published on November 26, 2009 by oilprices · No CommentsOil prices are currently trading around the $77 a barrel mark on Thursday in Asia amid mixed indications about the strength of global crude oil demand. Trading is closed Thursday in the US for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Benchmark Light crude oil futures for January delivery was down 66 cents to $77.30 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the NYMEX, while in London, Brent crude oil futures for January delivery fell 48 cents to $77.96 on the ICE Futures exchange.
A weakening US dollar has helped support crude prices as investors look to commodities as a hedge against inflation. On days the dollar weakens, oil usually rises though the relationship doesn’t always hold.
On Thursday, dollar dived to a 14-year low of 86.27 yen from 87.35 the day before. The euro, which hit a 15-month high against the dollar Wednesday, slipped to $1.5104 from $1.5132.
The EIA said Wednesday that crude supplies rose 1.0 million barrels while analysts had expected a rise of 1.4 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Crude inventories are up 17 million barrels from a year ago.
“The recent data mark a significant acceleration in Chinese demand,” Barclays Capital said in a report. It predicts oil will average $85 a barrel next year and $137 in 2015.