Oil prices dip in Asia; US Crude investment rises

Singapore, Jan 21: Oil prices were trading lower on Friday, Jan 21. The oil in New York, the world's largest crude consumer, rose and unexpected gains in US crude inventories placed a dampener on energy demand

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for Mar delivery, fell three cents to USD 89.56 per barrel.

US Department of Energy (DoE) figures released late Thursday showing a surprise rise in crude stockpiles were impacting market sentiment, analysts said.

"There is a hangover from the inventory report, which showed a sizeable crude inventory build, especially in the Gulf Coast region. Commodities are going down slightly but not losing too much ground," said John Kilduff of Again Capital.

DoE data showed crude stockpiles in the world's biggest oil consumer climbing 2.6 million barrels to 335.7 million barrels last week compared with analysts' forecasts of a 900,000-barrel drop.

The contract has been dipped by 3 percent in this week. The Feb contract expired on Thursday, after dropping 2.2 percent to $88.86, the lowest since Jan. 7.

OneIndia News
(With inputs from PTI)