i'll grant you this, crude prices are still a bit higher than i expected at this point in time, as you recall i was predicting low to mid twenties, but we'll chat again in 6 months <bg>
story.news.yahoo.com
Crude Futures Slip as Supply Worries Continue to Ease
Tue Nov 4, 4:30 PM ET
NEW YORK -- Crude-oil futures slipped Tuesday amid growing sentiment that demand may be adequately supplied.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude set for December delivery lost 15 cents to settle at $28.75 a barrel. December heating-oil futures fell 0.69 cent to 77.86 cents a gallon. December unleaded gasoline declined 0.32 cent to 78.40 cents a gallon, while December natural gas rose 2.2 cents to $4.727 per million British thermal units.
Adding to the already bearish mood in the market, the secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Alvaro Silva, said that global- oil demand appears to be adequately supplied.
"The concern is more that there will be low oil prices in the coming year," Mr. Silva said on the sidelines of an oil conference in Moscow.
Energy analyst Nordine Ait-Laoussine, president of Nalcosa and former Algerian oil minister, warned the current oil market has parallels with the crash three years ago when prices fell $10 in 12 months. Increasing global inventory and OPEC (news - web sites)'s declining market share are similar to 2000, he said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy (news - web sites)'s statistical arm -- the Energy Information Administration -- and the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, are set to release petroleum inventory data Wednesday.
A survey of 10 analysts by Dow Jones Newswires showed they estimate crude-oil stocks built up slightly in the week ended Oct. 31, with estimates averaging a build of 225,000 barrels. Builds are also expected in distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, and gasoline. An average 300,000 barrel rise in distillate inventories is expected, and an average 370,000 barrel build in gasoline is expected.
In other commodity markets:
METALS: December gold futures on the Comex division of Nymex gained $2.90 to settle at $380 an ounce, while December silver added 10 cents to $5.03.
GRAINS: December wheat was down 1.5 cents to $3.635 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade. December corn fell 7.75 cents to $2.3225.
- The Wall Street Journal Online contributed to this report |
