Nervous buying drives oil prices to fresh highs

Singapore (Platts)--18Oct2004

Active fund-buying amid continued concerns of tight oil supplies going ahead
of the winter demand season drove crude prices to record highs in Asia Monday.
New York's benchmark light sweet crude contract West Texas Intermediate for
November delivery was trading around $55.29/bbl at 4.55 pm in Singapore (0855
GMT) on Access after climbing to an all-time high trade of $55.33/bbl earlier
in the session. 

The contract had settled at $54.93/bbl on NYMEX Friday, for a
gain of 17cts. Front-month December Brent futures on London's International
Petroleum Exchange were also sharply higher in thin early electronic trade,
changing hands at $50.40/bbl at 855 GMT, up 47cts from its Friday's close. Low
middle distillate stocks in the US continued to drive the market up, while
supply shortfalls in the US Gulf, Norway and Venezuela, plus fears over
Nigerian and Russian supplies remained in the backdrop. Market players in Asia
were looking out for a correction. "I would be a seller at $58-60/bbl level
[with] the same old news driving the market," a risk manager said.

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