Oil prices drift lower ahead of weekend

Oil prices drift lower ahead of weekend, Nigerian tensions remain

Singapore (Platts)--1Oct2004


Benchmark world oil prices drifted slightly lower Friday but held on to most
of their recent gains amid continued fears of possible supply disruptions in
Nigeria. Prices had initially fallen earlier Friday after Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo warned Friday that his government would not tolerate any
"undue militancy" in the oil-rich Niger Delta, but reports of a tough stance
being taken by rebels saw prices edge back up towards Thursday's closing
levels. 

November futures for US benchmark light, sweet crude West Texas
Intermediate drifted slightly to $49.52/bbl at 1100 GMT, down 12 cts/bbl on
the day but off the low of $47.30/bbl seen in earlier trade. November Brent
futures on London's IPE were down 13 cts at $46.25/bbl at the same time, up
from an intra-day low of $45.90/bbl. While crude continues to hold on to most
of its recent gains, it is meeting strong resistance at $50/bbl, market
participants said. "The recent rally was aborted by the not-so-bullish API
stats," said a trader, referring to a 3.7-mil bbl commercial crude stock build
reported by the American Petroleum Institute this week.

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