Oil flat in Asia, after bubbling above $32 in NY
Oil flat in Asia, after bubbling above $32 in NY
SINGAPORE (Reuters): Oil prices drifted aimlessly during Asian
hours on Friday, after bubbling above US$32 a barrel on concerns
over low U.S. heating oil stocks in New York.
Brokers said oil did not stray from Thursday's closing, in
minimal ranged trade.
As of 0720 GMT, the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX)
contract for August delivery crudes was trading at $32.75 a
barrel, up 3 cents.
The market had surged by 82 cents a barrel in New York on
Thursday to settle at $32.72 a barrel.
During intraday trading, the market had touched a new contract
high of $32.90 a barrel, just around a dollar shy of nine-year
highs.
In Asia, however, the market barely moved between a low of
$32.67 and a high of $32.80 per barrel in trade on the after-
hours market, brokers said.
"It's pretty quiet. It hasn't really traded far from
settlement," said one New York broker said.
The market had rallied on Thursday as concerns over low
heating oil stocks in the U.S. ahead of the winter season
continue to warm sentiment.
The August NYMEX heating oil contract ended higher at 84.60
cents a gallon, up 2.92 cents in Thursday. It traded as high as
85.00 cents, also a new contract high.
John Cook, director of the U.S. Energy Information
Administration Petroleum Division, in testimony to the Senate on
Thursday, warned that distillate stocks were below normal levels.
"Distillate stocks are currently well below normal. Even with
normal inventory build during the summer and early fall, we will
enter the winter with lower-than-normal stocks," Cook said.
His comments echoed those of Energy Secretary Bill Richardson
who asked Congress to pass laws creating a two-million-barrel
heating oil reserve for the Northeast region on Wednesday.
Oil prices remain well above the $25 target set by the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), even after
the group agreed to release additional crude last week.
The stubbornly bullish market continues to shrug off the
group's statements it would consider further action to cool the
market.