Crude oil tops 52 dollars for first time

NEW YORK, Oct 6 (AFP) - Crude oil futures on Wednesday topped 52 dollars a barrel for the first time, as the New York contract climbed to 52.02 dollars a barrel on concerns about tight US heating oil reserves.
The new record came after data showed US commercial inventories of distillates -- mostly diesel and heating oil -- fell by 2.1 million barrels to 123.4 million in the week to October 1.
"As we are running into the winter now and heating oil inventories are already 8.0 percent below the historic average, another draw doesn't help to improve the situation," Commerzbank analyst David Thomas said.