Oil Hovers Around $76 On Weakened US Dollar
FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2007 file photo, an oil pump is seen at dusk in Sakhir, Bahrain. Oil prices fell below $76 a barrel Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009, with new data showing a slow U.S. economic recovery and consumer confidence that remains lukewarm at best.
FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2007 file photo, an oil pump is seen at dusk in Sakhir, Bahrain. Oil prices fell below $76 a barrel Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009, with new data showing a slow U.S. economic recovery and consumer confidence that remains lukewarm at best.
Oil prices hovered around $76 a barrel Wednesday as a weakened U.S. dollar overshadowed a U.S. government report showing a less-than-expected build in U.S. crude inventories.
Benchmark crude for January delivery fell a penny to $76.01 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil's gains were kept in check by the weakened U.S. dollar, which fell to a 15-month low against the euro.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported a 1 million-barrel build in crude oil reserves from the previous week. Analysts expected crude stocks to rise by 1.4 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Crude has fallen about 7 percent since reaching its high this year of $82 a barrel last month amid evidence that economic recovery in the U.S. will be tepid.
Oil is testing the bottom of a monthlong trading range of between $76 a barrel and $82, and some energy analysts, such as Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Illinois, say prices could fall to $70 a barrel during the next month.
Other analysts, however, expect prices to rebound as investors seek an inflation hedge amid a weakening U.S. dollar. Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecast an average price of $85 a barrel next year.
"Loose monetary policy and a weaker dollar should put upward pressure on crude oil prices next year," the bank said in a report.
A mixed bag of economic reports from the U.S. government earlier Wednesday did little to sway the energy markets.
The Labor Department reported that the number of people filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 35,000 to 466,000, and the Commerce Department said that consumer spending rose 0.7 percent last month.
But orders for big-ticket factory goods fell unexpectedly by 0.6 percent in October, according to the Commerce Department, the first decline since August.
And on Tuesday, the Commerce Department revised down third-quarter gross domestic product growth to 2.8 percent from 3.5 percent, a disappointing result since economies emerging from recessions often see larger expansions.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil gained a half cent to $1.9547 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery fell about a half cent to $1.9345 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery rose 19.2 cents to $4.958 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude for January delivery rose 35 cents to $76.81 on the ICE Futures exchange.
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Associated Press Writers Alex Kennedy in Singapore and Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, contributed to this report.
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