Oil hovers above USD 93 amid US crude supply gain
Oil prices hovered above USD 93 a barrel today in Asia after a report showed US crude supplies grew more than expected last week, suggesting demand remains sluggish.
Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 16 cents at USD 93.33 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose USD 1.90, or 2.1 per cent, to settle at USD 93.17 in New York yesterday.
Brent crude was up 31 cents at USD 111.23 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London. The American Petroleum Institute said late yesterday that crude inventories rose 2.7 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos, had predicted an increase of 200,000 barrels.
Inventories of gasoline added 153,000 barrels last week while distillates dropped 1.8 million barrels, the API said. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reports its weekly supply data later today.
Oil has soared 24 per cent from USD 75 three weeks ago amid growing investor optimism the US economy will avoid a recession this year. However, the Conference Board said yesterday that consumer confidence plunged in October to the lowest level since March 2009.
