New York’s main crude oil contract has shot to $US53 a barrel for the first time in opening trade as fears rose for heating oil supplies in the United States winter.
Light sweet crude for delivery in November spiked at $US53.00 dollars shortly after trade opened.
After five minutes, it was trading at $US52.92, up 90 cents on the day.
US commercial inventories of heating oil, crucial in the approach to winter, fell 1.2 million barrels to 51.2 million, according to a weekly report Wednesday by the Department of Energy.
“There’s a lot of concern surrounding the levels of stocks in the US,” Veronica Smart, an analyst at the British-based Energy Information Centre, said in London.
“We’re approaching winter when demand is obviously higher, particularly for gasoil.
“If we do have a particularly harsh winter I think supplies could struggle.”
— AFP
