Crude Oil Seen Little Changed as Refinery Demand Disappoints
London, Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil is expected to open
little changed, after posting its biggest one-day drop in almost
three weeks yesterday, as rising U.S. inventories indicate that
refinery demand has been weaker than anticipated.
Crude oil for December delivery may open little changed from
$21.42 a barrel on London's International Petroleum Exchange,
traders said. Yesterday, prices fell $1.17, or 5.2 percent, the
largest drop since Oct. 8.
Refineries in the U.S., the world's largest energy consumer,
have cut their oil processing rates to 88.9 percent of capacity
after running flat out in July, according to a report Tuesday
from the American Petroleum Institute. That helped U.S. stocks
gain 3.4 million barrels last week, at a time of year when rising
demand for heating fuel normally pushes them lower.
``Stocks should be waning right now,' said Phil Oxley, a
broker with Credit Lyonnais Ltd. ``We have to wait an see what
happens within the next month, that will be the key indicator of
demand.'
Most of the U.S. will have a milder-than-normal winter,
similar to last year's, that will decrease heating fuel demand,
the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said
this week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for December
delivery was up 2 cents at $21.70 a barrel. |
