London (Platts)--3Oct2008

Global crude futures were little changed in early European trading
Friday, after a week-long plunge, as traders awaited the US House of
Representatives' vote on the revised $700 billion rescue package, and ahead of
key US payrolls data released later today, sources said.

At 10:36 GMT, the November ICE Brent contract traded at $90.96/barrel, up
40 cents from the overnight settle, after touching a low of $88.60/b earlier
in the session. Meanwhile, the November NYMEX contract edged 33 cents higher
to $94.30/b

"It has been a rollercoaster ride. We have had exceptional ranges around
$5/b for most of the week and most traders are really shell-shocked," one
London-based broker said.

November ICE Brent has slumped $12.26/b or 12.1% relative to last week's
settle, as the darkening outlook for global demand in the wake of recent
financial turmoil and strength in the dollar, the world's reserve currency
continues to weigh on sentiment across the commodity complex.

Over the same period the ICE Dollar Index is up 4.2% to 80.244, having
hit a year high of 80.794 on Thursday.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release key payroll data later
today.

Global stock markets, closely tracked by crude futures, remain under
pressure, despite a brief recovery following the Senate's approval of the
revised $700 billion package. The House will vote later Friday on the amended
package, after rejecting the original plan on Monday.

"The revised US financial package may just not be enough. The world
economy is creaking from the credit crunch and on a daily basis we see
evidence of the global slowdown," Robert Laughlin of MF Global said in a
report.

The Dow Jones Industrials Index is down 5.4% since beginning of the week,
still feeling the aftershock of Monday's 778 point plunge, the largest in
history.

Meanwhile the UK FTSE 100, the German Dax 30 and Japan's Nikkei 225
indexes have lost 4.3%, 6% and 8% respectively over the same period.

"If the House was to pass the bill, it might provide some short covering,
but the gasoline crack trading below $1/b is an indicator of the poor state
of the oil markets," Oliver Jacob of Petromatrix said in a report.

"Not only is US demand lower than in previous years but it is not even
showing any of the normal seasonal increase from spring to summer. US refining
margins remain at risk and this can only translate into lower crude oil demand
and oil being pushed back to the producers," Jacob added
US auto sales are down by 12.8% for the year to date and Americans have
driven 62.6 billion fewer miles than they did over the same nine-month period
one year earlier, according to Platts data.

In products markets, November NYMEX heating oil and gasoline futures
traded at $2.7179/gal and $2.2654/gal respectively, up 0.84 cents and 1.04
cents.

October ICE Gasoil fell $8.50 to $887.50/mt.
--Brian Murphy, brian_a_murphy@platts.com