NYMEX-Oil slips as U.S. budget deadline draws near
SINGAPORE, Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures slipped on Monday for a third straight session on worries that the United States may not reach a budget deal by Jan. 1 to prevent a fiscal crisis that could erode fuel demand at the world's largest oil consumer.
FUNDAMENTALS
* U.S. crude for February delivery was down 14 cents to $90.66 a barrel by 2353 GMT after a 2.4 percent gain last week. Front-month prices are on track to post an 8 percent fall in 2012, after three straight annual gains.
* Brent crude slipped 26 cents to $110.36 a barrel, but is set to post a 2.8 percent year-on-year increase in 2012, up for a fourth straight year.
* Oil production in the United States rose to 6.98 million barrels per day last week, hitting its highest since March 1993, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed.
* U.S. crude oil imports in October fell 816,000 barrels per day from a year earlier, hitting their lowest monthly level since January 2000, the Energy Information Administration said.
* U.S. oil inventories fell less than expected last week as imports declined, while stocks of refined fuels rose, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Friday.
* The union representing nearly 15,000 dockworkers at U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast seaports stretching from Boston to Corpus Christi, Texas, reached a tentative contract deal with shipping companies on Friday, averting a strike that threatened to wreak havoc on the U.S. economy.
* Saudi Arabia has set a record state budget for next year as high oil prices allow heavy spending on welfare and infrastructure projects, helping it avoid the severe social unrest seen in other parts of the Arab world.
* Iran started on Friday six days of naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz, the official IRNA news agency reported, manoeuvres aimed at showcasing its military capabilities in what is a vital oil and gas shipping route.
* Sudan has managed to boost oil production to almost 140,000 barrels per day and plans to add another 10,000 bpd next year, its oil minister said on Saturday after the African country launched a new oilfield.
* Russia plans to deliver an extra 400,000 tonnes of oil to Belarus in the first quarter of next year, a spokesman for Russia's oil pipeline operator Transneft said on Saturday, as the countries quarrel over volumes for the year.
MARKETS NEWS
* Efforts to prevent the U.S. economy from tumbling over a "fiscal cliff" stalled on Sunday as Democrats and Republicans remained at loggerheads over a deal that would prevent taxes for all Americans from rising on New Year's Day.
* World stocks declined, the dollar gained and U.S. shares fell for a fifth day on Friday as the White House and U.S. lawmakers closed in on the "fiscal cliff" deadline with no deal in place.
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Monday:
- China HSBC Mfg PMI Final at 0145 GMT
(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)