Skip navigation
Oil Video Gallery
Why Dubai's debt issue will artificially inflate the dollar, with Tim Smalls, Execution LLC.
More insight on Dubai and the markets, with CNBC's John Harwood, David Faber & Michelle Caruso-Cabrera; Ken Grant, Water...
Dubai government calls for debt restructuring, with CNBC's David Faber; John Kilduff, Round Earth Capital; Steven Stahle...
powered by digg
Oil Settles Near $79 as Ida Weakens, Dollar Climbs
By: Reuters | 10 Nov 2009 | 04:25 PM ET
Text Size

Oil prices fell Tuesday as the dollar firmed and energy companies began restoring offshore operations disrupted by Tropical Storm Ida.

U.S. light, sweet crude [US@CL.1  Loading...      ()] fell 38 cents to settle at $79.05. London Brent crude [GB@IB.1  Loading...      ()] dropped 27 cents to settle at $77.50 a barrel.

"Crude pulled back from its highs because the dollar bounced a bit and there was no sizzle after the Ida fizzle," said Andrew Lebow, broker at MF Global in New York.

Oil and natural gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico began returning workers evacuated ahead of Tropical Storm Ida and restoring shuttered output and ports.

Ida, which churned up to a category 2 hurricane earlier this week, weakened into a topical depression on Tuesday after coming ashore in Alabama.

About 43 percent of U.S. production in the Gulf of Mexico and 28 percent of the region's natural gas output remained shut on Tuesday, according to government figures.
off shore oil rig

Disruptions in the Gulf, home to about 25 percent of U.S. domestic oil production and 14 percent of gas output, helped push crude prices up more than 2 percent on Monday.

U.S. oil markets have dropped from record highs near $150 a barrel to below $33 a barrel in December as the global recession hit energy demand.

Traders have looked to wider macro-economic data and equities markets for signs of an economic recovery that could bolster crude demand. Pressure on crude prices also came as the dollar firmed off a 15-month low, as investors pulled money out of equities and crude and into safer havens.

A MasterCard SpendingPulse report showed U.S. gasoline demand rose 2.2 percent last week versus year-ago levels, although it was down 2.3 percent compared with the previous week.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration revised its forecast for 2010 crude oil demand up by 160,000 barrels per day, but cut its estimate demand slightly for the United States, the world's largest energy consumer.

In its annual World Energy Outlook published on Tuesday, the International Energy Agency forecast a 1.5 percent rise in primary energy demand globally every year until 2030, and called for $26 trillion in investment to meet the expected demand.

Markets were also awaiting weekly U.S. oil inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute, due out at 4:30 p.m. New York time on Tuesday. The weekly EIA inventory report will be released a day late on Thursday due to the U.S. Veteran's Day holiday.

Analysts forecast the data will show a slight rise in U.S. crude oil inventories last week due to higher imports, according to analysts polled by Reuters.

Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • These four sectors will be the next to lead the market.
  • Zhu Zhu Pets are this year's must-have toy, fetching $40 or more on eBay.
  • T shirt man
  • From the why-didn’t-I-think-of-that file, we present Jason Sadler, a man whose job is wearing T-shirts.
  • It may be the most unusual guide to business you'll read.
  • Shopping for a gadget hound? The choices can be baffling. Here are a few that should be a hit.
  • "The Who" will be the halftime act for Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7 in Miami. Is the NFL behind the times?
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 01:04:03 29 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:06:46 29 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 06:30:27 29 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:00:33 29 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters