NEW YORK, Dec 30 (AFP) - New York's main oil contract soared 33.6 percent in 2004 despite slipping on the final day's trade Thursday as the shock of Saudi car bomb attacks wore off.
New York light, sweet crude shot up 10.93 dollars, or 33.6 percent, over the year to finish at 43.45 dollars a barrel. On Thursday alone, the key contract for delivery in February slipped 19 cents.
The contract pierced 40 dollars a barrel for the first time in May on concerns over gasoline supply in the US summer.
Later in the year, insurgent attacks on Iraqi pipelines and within Saudi Arabia fueled concerns of shortfalls even as producers pumped at nearly full capacity, straining to meet hot global demand, particularly from China.
World prices have eased, however, since the New York oil contract shot to a record 55.67 dollars a barrel at the end of October.
"We are moving into a stage, particularly as we are going to the Iraqi elections in January, where there will be lots of bad news," said Mike Coulten, analyst at the London-based Energy Information Centre.
"It won't be bad in any real sense but in the sense that it might cause some fears. But with the greater cover and the Saudis bringing more production, I don't think it is going to have much effect and I expect to see a continuing softening of the oil price," he said.
In London, Brent North Sea crude surged 10.20 dollars, or 33.8 percent, over the year to 40.37 dollars a barrel. On Thursday alone, it rose 1.20 dollars, catching up to events after an extended Christmas closure.
The market was "a bit overdone" on Wednesday, when traders reacted to news of twin car bombs exploding in oil giant Saudi Arabia, said Refco market analyst Marshall Steeves.
"It is a deflation of Saudi blast rally yesterday."
Two car bombings in Riyadh Wednesday targeted the Saudi interior ministry and a special forces building, the latest in a wave of attacks by suspected Al-Qaeda militants in the kingdom.
There appeared to be little direct threat to Saudi oil installations, however, Steeves said.
"Absent any further problem in Middle East, I think prices will come off a little bit," he said.
After the official New York market closed, however, a mortar strike set fire to Baghdad's Dura oil refinery, an interior ministry official told AFP in Baghdad.
Baghdad firemen were struggling to put out the blaze and called for help at the refinery in the southwestern Baghdad suburb, the official said.
"We cannot stop the fire so we called other fire departments from outside Baghdad," the official said.
Weekly estimates of US inventories published on Wednesday revealed contradictory results for US commercial distillate stockpiles, which include winter heating fuel.
Data from the US Department of Energy reported distillates had fallen 800,000 barrels to 119 million for the week ending December 24.
However the American Petroleum Institute reported distillates had risen 525,000 barrels to 119.4 million barrels.
"The numbers from the two agencies differ but the absolute totals are the same for both agencies," said Informa Global Markets analyst Peter Hills in London.
"Even so, stocks are still 17 million barrels below last year," he added.
Crude oil inventories eased 800,000 barrels to 295.1 million in the week ended December 24, the Department of Energy said.
12/30/2004 22:20 GMT - AFP