LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices remained below 50 dollars in New York as supply fears eased slightly with peace talks set to resume in major producer Nigeria and following a rise in US crude inventories.
The price of light sweet crude for November delivery fell 29 cents to 49.22 dollars a barrel in pre-opening electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract closed lower Wednesday for the first time in nearly two weeks, dropping 39 cents to 49.51 dollars a barrel.
In London, the price of reference Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in November slipped 18 cents to 45.90 dollars in early deals after hitting the historic peak of 46.80 dollars on Tuesday.
"The market is easing down following the weak close last night," GNI-Man Financial trader Kevin Blemkin said Thursday.
"It is still this news about the Nigerian situation that is very apparent. It looks as though the situation is improving," he added.
Worries about supply disruptions in Nigeria have eased amid the start of peace talks between Abuja authorities and the leader of a separatist movement fighting for the control of the country's oil wealth.
Mujahid Abubakar Dokubo Asari, leader of Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF) which has issued threats against foreign oil installations and workers, began a meeting with the Nigerian government in Abuja on Wednesday.
Negotiations between Asari and the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo were expected to continue Thursday.
"We will meet again today with the president," Asari told AFP by telephone.
Asari's rebel movement claims it is fighting for the interests of ethnic Ijaw people in the oil-rich southern region, while the government accuses it of engaging in oil theft and trafficking.
Oil accounts for more than 95 percent of Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings and the United States is one of the key clients for Nigerian oil.
Oil prices hit all-time peaks of 50.47 dollars in after-hours New York deals on Monday and 46.80 dollars in London on Tuesday amid the Nigerian unrest.
Another factor forcing prices down was news Wednesday that US crude oil inventories showed a surprise increase a week after tumbling to their lowest levels since February.
The Department of Energy said crude oil reserves rose 3.4 million barrels in the week to September 24 to 272.9 million barrels, a week after a spectacular drop of 9.1 million barrels due to Hurricane Ivan.
"Everybody has focused very much on the fact that we had a largely unexpected rise in (oil) stocks," Societe Generale analyst Frederic Lasserre said.
Along with events in Nigeria the stocks' data has contributed to "a fairly significant drop in prices", he added.