Financial Times: Oil falls as mild weather tempers US demand: “Crude prices fell on Tuesday as mild weather continued to dominate in the US, while Shell announced it had secured much of the 180,000 barrels-a-day production lost following last week’s attack on a Nigerian pipeline.”: Tuesday 27 December 2005

By Neil Dennis

Published: December 27 2005

Crude prices fell on Tuesday as mild weather continued to dominate in the US, while Shell announced it had secured much of the 180,000 barrels-a-day production lost following last week’s attack on a Nigerian pipeline.

The expected reduced call on crude for the refining of heating oil drove Nymex West Texas Intermediate for February delivery 48 cents lower to $57.72 a barrel in early electronic trade. While the International Petroleum Exchange in London remained closed on Tuesday, Brent crude was 54 cents lower in electronic trade at $56.15 a barrel.

The US National Weather Service said in a forecast that demand in the key north-east region was likely to be a quarter less than usual in the week to December 31, given the mild temperatures.

Meanwhile, recent supply tensions eased after Royal Dutch Shell said it had restored most of its production in Nigeria following an attack by gunmen on its Niger Delta pipeline, knocking out 180,000 barrel a day of production. By Monday Shell had all but 15,000 b/d back on line.

Walter Zimmerman, technical analyst at United Energy, said that low volumes this week were likely to mean that the market would continue to trade in the ranges seen for much of the past two months.

He said: “When we look to the very narrow weekly range and the very low volume it seems more likely that more congestion is ahead.”

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