Oil prices slide as US reserves rise
Thursday, 12 November 2009 17:28Oil prices tumbled this evening, extending earlier losses after news of a huge jump in US crude inventories which indicated weaker demand in the world's biggest energy consuming country.
US crude plunged $2.16 to $77.12 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude dived $1.94 to $76.01.
The fresh falls came after US Department of Energy (DoE) announced that American crude oil reserves surged 1.8 million barrels in the week ending November 6. That was greater than market expectations for a 200,000-barrel gain.
The DoE added that US petrol stockpiles unexpectedly rallied by 2.5 million barrels. Distillates, which include diesel and heating fuel, rose by around 300,000 barrels.
Traders meanwhile absorbed the latest monthly review from the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), which is a global energy watchdog that advises top industrialised nations.
Global oil demand is heading higher than expected as economic recovery gathers pace notably in China, but rising prices could derail expansion, the IEA said.
The latest data suggests 'that global (oil) demand is well on track for resumed year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter of 2009, for the first time since the second quarter of 2008,' it added.
The IEA raised its estimate for global oil demand this year by 210,000 barrels per day, and for next year by 140,000 barrels per day.
