Crude lingers above US$83

15-Oct-10

Light, sweet crude for November delivery recently traded at US$83.08 a barrel on the Nymex, after rising as high as $84.12 earlier in the session. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded at US$84.5. After early gains in the day, crude futures retreated. Crude oil has stagnated on falling US demand for crude and fuel products against a weakening dollar vs the Euro and other currencies. A weaker dollar makes oil cheaper for buyers in other currencies, and the euro's surge to the highest level against the dollar since January has helped keep crude futures above US$80 a barrel for more than a week. On Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute released data showing a much larger draw in US stockpiles that helped support oil prices. The API reported a 4 mln barrel draw in US crude stockpiles, a fall in gasoline inventories by 1.9 mln barrels and a fall in stocks of distillate by 250,000 barrels. In its latest meeting, OPEC has decided to keep its production policy unchanged.