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To: kumar who wrote (1)	9/11/2002 10:50:17 PM
From: maceng2	Respond to of 1417

How does one get a "slump" in oil inventories? Do they really mean inventories are being reduced? Consumption up?? Economy "slump" over?? ohmygod pearlies new thread toast. Oh no! ------------------------------------------------ US sees slump in oil inventories The US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported that the world's largest oil consumer's crude inventories had slumped by 5.3m barrels last week, taking them to their lowest since March 2001. But the market impact of the news was diluted by the fact that an earlier estimate by the American Petroleum Association put the decline at a much more modest 470,000 barrels. Against this backdrop, the International Energy Agency drew attention to dwindling world stocks of oil. The IEA said in its monthly report that this year bore a striking resemblance to 1999, when a sharp drop in stock levels over the winter months coincided with an economic recovery to push oil prices to decade-highs in 2000. The warning comes a week before Opec's meeting to decide whether to relax its output curbs. Traders were biding their time, waiting for further developments in the US's toughening stance on Iraq. Late in London, October Brent was 5 cents up at $28.63 a barrel. By early afternoon in New York, October Nymex crude was 13 cents up at $29.86. Gold prices edged lower as investor jitters surrounding the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks eased. The metal fixed at $315.50 a troy ounce in afternoon trade, compared with $319.10 an ounce on Tuesday. "The anniversary will probably see concerns peak and, barring any escalation in US-Iraq tension, gold may head lower over the coming days," said John Reade, precious metals analyst at UBS Warburg in London. London coffee drifted lower, hit by profit-taking in the wake of the previous day's 20-month high. The November contract settled at $627 a tonne, down $9 on the day. Some think the latest move may signal the end of the recent run of buying by the funds and the start of a deeper retracement. Others suggest that one more significant push higher could be the trigger needed to prompt roasters to cover forward positions, offering more support for the market. news.ft.com