Brent crude oil inches up, but still below US$55

31-Dec-14

Light, sweet crude for February delivery inched up 1% to US$54.1 on the Nymex, and to US$57.9 on the Brent. Analysts expect the EIA to report that oil supplies fell by 600,000 barrels last week, according to a Wall Street Journal survey. “We’re going to see a draw in crude stocks because you see a little pickup in fuel demand in the holiday week,” said Gene McGillian, senior analyst at Tradition Energy, referring to the Christmas holiday last week. Still, the drivers that have lopped off 50% of our value over the last six months are still the main features of the market.”