Oil prices weakened further on Wednesday as traders awaited the weekly snapshot of crude inventories data in the United States, dealers said.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, lost 14 cents to $64,93 per barrel in electronic trading.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for November delivery declined 15 cents to $62,82 per barrel.
The US Department of Energy was to publish later on Wednesday the report on energy stockpiles for the week to September 23.
”Crude stocks are expected to have fallen by one million barrels after disruptions in loadings, but the focus will be on the product inventories,” Sucden analyst Sam Tilley said.
Analyst consensus forecasts stood at a two-million-barrel drop in distillates and a 2,7-million-barrel decrease in gasoline (petrol) reserves, Tilley said.
”A more pronounced drop in either distillates or gasoline will add some fuel to the market, but a less-than-expected drop will probably still leave prices firm.”
The focus is now on US refining capacity, which has been badly hit by shutdowns because of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and not whether there is ample supply of crude oil, dealers said.
With the northern-hemisphere winter just months away, concern is growing over whether US refiners can churn out sufficient heating oil when demand in the world’s largest energy user is typically at its peak.
Prices were also affected by Saudi Arabia’s pledge on Tuesday to supply the market with more crude if necessary. — Sapa-AFP