New York's main contract dipped to US$106.7 a barrel in afternoon trade while Brent North Sea crude for October eased to US$109.5. Oil prices have dipped as the market await US crude stockpiles data for clues about demand in the country, as per AFP. The US Energy Information Administration last week said crude stockpiles shrank to 360.5 mln barrels in the week to August 9, the lowest since January. A decline in stockpiles supports crude prices as it suggests a pick-up in demand. However, demand is expected to dip, and markets are expected to embark on a correction phase as USA moves out of the peak summer demand season.
Prices are likely to find support from growing concerns about a tightening of supplies from the Middles East owing to sporadic violence in Egypt as well as strikes in Libya that have hampered oil production and shipping operations.
21-Aug-13 
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