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Oil posts gain, but still finishes week with loss

The price of oil rose yesterday after a positive US economic report, but finished with a loss for the week as supplies remain plentiful while demand is unspectacular.

Benchmark US crude for December delivery gained 74 cents to close at US$97.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Still, oil ended the week down US$2.96 a barrel, or 2.9 percent, largely due to concerns among traders that the market is oversupplied.

Yesterday, a jump in demand for commercial airplanes boosted orders for long-lasting US factory goods by 3.7 percent in September.

But reports from the Energy Information Administration this week showed that US oil inventories rose by 9.2 million barrels in the two weeks ended October 18, a possible symptom of subdued demand and overproduction.

"Demand isn't looking great and it's not anything to do with fuel efficiency in today's cars. It's the fact that there's high unemployment, weak job creation," said Carl Larry of Oil Outlooks and Opinions.

Brent crude, a benchmark for international crude also used by US refineries, fell 6 cents to US$106.90 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

— Wholesale gasoline was flat at US$2.59 a gallon.

— Natural gas added 8 cents to US$3.71 per 1,000 cubic feet.

— Heating oil rose 1 cent to US$2.91 a gallon.




 

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