World oil prices eased today on profit-taking ahead of the New Year but held on to the astonishing 40% gains made over the course of 2005.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, receded 47 cents to $59.85 a barrel in pit dealing. In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for February delivery declined 19 cents to $57.88 a barrel in electronic trading.
Both London Brent and US light crude futures fell on thin profit-taking after a two-day rally, analysts noted. They said that despite this, both markets are set to finish the year 40% higher than the close of 2004.
Crude futures had hit historic high prices in late August following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina on US Gulf Coast energy installations, striking $70.85 a barrel in New York and $68.89 in London.
That marked a 70% jump between January and August, but prices have since pulled back owing largely to mild weather across the northern hemisphere in the run-up to winter.
Crude futures had jumped on Thursday after the release of the US Department of Energy weekly inventories report showed an unexpected decline in distillate products and petrol.
The DoE said that US stocks of distillates, including heating fuel and diesel, fell 900,000 barrels to 126.8 million barrels in the week to December 23. That was more than the forecast decline of 788,000 barrels. Petrol inventories fell 1.2 million barrels to 202.9 million, much more than the fall of 267,000 barrels predicted by analysts.
