WASHINGTON Oct 24, 2006 (AP)— Oil prices crept higher Tuesday when chilly weather draped the East Coast and traders awaited fresh U.S. government data on domestic fuel inventories.
Crude futures had fallen during the past two trading sessions amid doubts about OPEC's ability to implement its recent decision to cut daily production by more than 1 million barrels. But some traders believe the cartel's intentions could nevertheless put a price-floor in place around $60 a barrel.
Light sweet crude for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed 54 cents to settle at $59.35 a barrel. In London, December Brent crude futures on the ICE Futures exchange gained 65 cents to settle at $59.86.
The oil market is "nearing the exhaustion of its immediate-term downtrend," said Citigroup analyst Tim Evans, who believes the market's early analysis of the OPEC move could shift.
But the London-based Centre for Global Energy Studies said in its latest research note that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to make public the individual starting points for cuts, which is a cause for concern.
"Venezuela and Iran have both consistently claimed much higher production levels, raising doubts that they will make any real cuts," the note said.
Nymex natural gas futures rose 21 cents to settle at $7.091 per thousand cubic feet as overnight temperatures dipped below freezing as far south as Georgia, according to Accuweather.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 2.62 cents to settle at $1.6952 a gallon, gasoline futures jumped 6.65 cents to settle at $1.538 a gallon.
The Energy Information Administration is to issue weekly U.S. oil data Wednesday. Crude oil inventories are expected to grow for the fourth week in a row, by 2.7 million barrels, according to a survey of analysts by Dow Jones Newswires. Distillates stocks, which include heating oil, will likely fall by 1.6 million barrels to 143.8 million barrels, the survey showed.
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