Oil Prices Stay On A Point

SINGAPORE: Oil prices hung below $71 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as an unexpected rise in U.S. crude supplies heightened investor concerns about weak consumer demand.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was down 35 cents to $70.58 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract rose $2.07 to settle at $70.93.

Crude prices have hugged the $70 level for months as gasoline demand remains sluggish amid signs the global economy is recovering.

On Tuesday, a SpendingPulse report by MasterCard showed the four-week average for gasoline consumption in the U.S. fell 3.2 percent for the week ended Friday, the ninth straight weekly decline.

U.S. oil inventories rose last week, more evidence demand remains tepid, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday. Crude stocks increased 631,000 barrels while analysts had expected a drop of 3.0 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Supplies of gasoline grew 1.3 million barrels while distillates jumped 5.2 million barrels, the API said.

A weakening U.S. dollar has helped support oil prices. The euro rose Wednesday in Asian trading to $1.4675 from $1.4656 the previous day while the dollar held near 91 yen.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for October delivery fell 1.87 cents to $1.77 a gallon, and heating oil slid 1.90 cents to $1.76 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 9.2 cents to $3.41 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude rose 2 cents to $67.37.

Oil Prices Stay On A Point was first posted on September 16, 2009 at 3:03 pm.