World oil prices plunged as a report showed that US gasoline and crude reserves spiked last week as more supplies came online following recent hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Crude stocks rose 5.6 mln barrels in the week to Oct 14 - a three fold rise as against forecasts of a 2.0-mln-barrel increase.
Also contributing to the slide was the relief that Hurricane Wilma looked set to avoid storm-weary Gulf Coast installations.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, dipped by US$1.60 usd to US$61.60 per barrel. In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for December delivery slipped to US$57.78 per barrel.
6 Gulf Coast refineries remain closed following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and others are just restarting. These 6 facilities account for around 7.6% of the total refining capacity of the US, while the Gulf Coast itself accounts for some 29% of total US crude production.
20-Oct-05 
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