News of armed men attacking a convoy in Nigeria's oil-rich southeastern delta, has caused oil prices to rebound from a seven-month low. Early in the day, crude futures fell on release of U.S. government data showed rising inventories of crude, gasoline and heating oil. Light sweet crude for November delivery rose to settle at US$59.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The convoy in Nigeria was carrying supplies for Agip, a subsidiary of Italian oil company ENI SpA. Fighting also broke out at a pumping station belonging to a Royal Dutch Shell PLC subsidiary elsewhere in the volatile delta region. Nigeria produces light, sweet crude oil, desirable for the production of transportation fuels, and loss of output can affect the market.
Despite the steep decline in prices, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. did not expect OPEC to hold an emergency meeting to discuss prices ahead of its scheduled meeting on December 14.
05-Oct-06 
{{comment.DateTimeStampDisplay}}
{{comment.Comments}}