Oil slips below $46 in Asian trade<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Singapore<\/p>\n
Crude oil prices slipped below 46 dollars a barrel in Asian
\ntrade Wednesday on increasing hopes of adequate heating fuel
\nsupply during the northern hemisphere winter, dealers said.<\/p>\n
At 03:35 pm (02:35 p.m Jakarta time), light sweet crude for
\ndelivery in December was at US$45.80 a barrel, down 31 cents from
\nits close of $46.11 in New York on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Current prices are 41 percent higher than the level of $32 a
\nbarrel at the start of the year, but around 17 percent lower than
\nthe historic peaks of more than $55 a barrel reached in October.<\/p>\n
\"I think it's just the market perception that there's enough
\nstocks of both crude oil and products in the world market,\" said
\nGerard Rigby, deputy head of trading at China Aviation Oil in
\nSingapore, explaining the most recent falls.<\/p>\n
\"For the moment, a lot of traders are selling to exit their
\npositions at the end of the year.\"<\/p>\n
Daniel Hynes, an energy analyst with ANZ Bank in Melbourne,
\nsaid the market was in the middle of a \"strong downward trend\"
\nand further declines were expected ahead of a planned meeting of
\nthe OPEC oil cartel in December.<\/p>\n
\"There is talk now that there is pressure being applied for a
\nproduction decrease from OPEC, which suggests that the market has
\ncompletely turned around from only a few weeks ago,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Sentiment has changed drastically.\"<\/p>\n
Hynes said current price levels were now coming in line with
\nmarket fundamentals.<\/p>\n
\"Prices just pushed too fast to a higher level and once the
\nspeculators and funds left the market, the support for the price
\nat that level was removed and we're now left without any buying
\nsupport,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that $45 will be the next \"critical\" support level.<\/p>\n
Rigby of China Aviation Oil said, however, he remained worried
\nabout stockpile levels in distillates, mainly diesel and heating
\nfuel, despite rising crude oil stocks due to expected higher
\ndemand during the northern hemisphere winter.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think there's any tightness in crude oil but
\ndistillates are low in Europe and the United States,\" Rigby said,
\nadding that prices were likely to spike once more if the winter
\nwas harsher than expected.<\/p>\n
Rigby said the technical support level for oil was currently
\nat $45 a barrel.<\/p>\n
\"I'd be surprised if it goes below $45 unless there's a big
\nbuild in distillate stocks in the next few weeks,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The US Energy Department is due to release oil inventories
\nlate Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Hynes agreed there were lingering concerns over winter heating
\noil supply.<\/p>\n
\"But the heat really has come out of the market and the
\nperception now is that supplies are plentiful enough to meet
\ndemands from the market.\"<\/p>",
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