Crude oil: what can we wait for?

Crude oil fell for a second day after the National Weather Service forecast unusually warm weather will prevail until mid-January in the eastern half of the U.S., hurting demand for heating fuels in the world's top consumer. Temperatures may exceed the seasonal average by 10 degrees Fahrenheit (6 Celsius) in the U.S. Northeast, where demand for heat may be 30 percent below normal in the week starting today, according to Missouri-based researcher Weather Derivatives. Brent crude for February settlement dropped as much as 1.7 percent to $39.82 a barrel and was down 35 cents at $40.16 at 10:07 a.m. on &to= english.pravda.ru/comp/2002/04/29/28084.html ' target=_blank>London's International Petroleum Exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, February crude slid 46 cents to $42.93 a barrel, down 23 percent from its $55.67 October record. Mild conditions may allow for U.S. heating-fuel inventories to rise for a second straight week. The Energy Department reported yesterday that distillate stockpiles, which include heating oil and diesel, added 2 million barrels to 121.1 million in the week ended Dec. 31. That still left them 11 percent lower than a year ago, reports Bloomberg. According to Forbes, light sweet crude for February delivery was down 40 cents to $42.99 a barrel in electronic trading on the &to= english.pravda.ru/comp/2002/08/20/34817.html ' target=_blank>New York Mercantile Exchange by late morning in Europe, and heating oil was off 1.04 cent at $1.2080. Brent crude was down 31 cents at $40.20 a barrel on London's International Petroleum Exchange. The U.S. Energy Department's statistical arm reported Wednesday that supplies of distillate fuel, which include heating oil and diesel, grew by 2 million barrels last week to 121.1 million barrels. The increase was much higher than expected, though it still leaves inventories 11 percent below year ago levels, according to the &to= english.pravda.ru/main/18/89/357/13842_petrol.html ' target=_blank>Energy Information Administration.

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