New York oil prices surged to five-month highs today following the sale of a US pipeline that should result in lower crude stockpiles for the United States, traders said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, reached $102.29 a barrel - the highest level since 9 June.
It later retreated to $101.95, still up $2.58 compared with yesterday's closing level.
Brent North Sea crude for December slid $1.44 to $110.74 a barrel as traders in London focused on eurozone demand worries.
Canadian company Enbridge today bought ConocoPhillips' 50% stake in the 330,000 barrel-per-day Seaway pipeline, which runs between the US Gulf of Mexico coast and the Cushing, Oklahoma oil storage hub.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy said that American crude stockpiles fell by €1.1m barrels last week, higher than the 800,000-barrels drop forecast by analysts.
