Crude oil futures fell below 46 dollars a barrel on Wednesday as traders grew more confident that heating fuel supplies would hold through winter. The benchmark US December contract traded at 45.84 dollars in electronic markets, while London's January Brent crude slipped 37 cents to 41.92 dollars a barrel.
The retreat leaves prices roughly 17 percent below the record highs above 55 dollars reached in October, though they remain 41 percent above the 32-dollar level where the year began.
A recovery in Gulf of Mexico output following a series of hurricanes has sharply improved the supply picture. US crude stockpiles have gained 22 million barrels, or eight percent, over seven weeks, aided by OPEC production running at its highest level in decades. Government data released last week showed inventories climbing 1.8 million barrels to 291.5 million in the week to 5 November.
Markets were awaiting a fresh Department of Energy report due Wednesday, with expectations for continued gains in both crude and heating oil stocks. Ahead of a December OPEC gathering, analysts noted growing cartel pressure for a production cut, a reversal from conditions only weeks earlier.
In Iraq, saboteurs detonated explosives on a pipeline four kilometres west of Samarra, severing the link between the Baiji refinery and the Dora refinery south of Baghdad.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in November 2004, in its own words.