Oil trading around $77, set for weekly fall, demand concern

US Light crude oil prices are trading around the $77 a barrel in New York early Friday and are poised for a second weekly fall in three on signs fuel demand is slowing in the US, the world’s biggest energy consumer.

Light crude oil prices fell 3 percent yesterday to a four week low after an Energy Department report showed crude oil inventories rose a more than expected 1.76 million barrels last week and US refinery operating rates fell to the lowest in more than a year.

“There is a lot of uncertainty as to what we can expect with the rate of recovery in Western oil demand, particularly the US,” said Toby Hassall, a research analyst at CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney. “There are sectors of the economy that remain weak.”

Crude oil futures for December delivery traded at $77.04 a barrel, up 10 cents, in electronic trading on the NYMEX at 11:14 a.m. in Sydney. Yesterday, the contract fell $2.34 to $76.94, the lowest settlement since Oct. 14. Futures, up 73 percent since the start of the year, have dropped 0.5 percent this week.

“There has been a significant degree of resistance as we approach $80 a barrel,” Hassall said. “We’re still stuck in this range.”

Tags:  oil prices, oil trading