LONDON, 15 October 2004 — Oil prices roared up more than a dollar to fresh record highs yesterday as the US government reported another fall in heating fuel stocks ahead of winter.
New York’s main crude oil contract yesterday shot to an unprecedented $54.88 a barrel.
Light sweet crude for delivery in November set a record $54.88 in the afternoon. It also finished at a record high closing price of $54.76, up $1.12 on the day.
London Brent crude for November rose 85 cents to $50.90 a barrel.
World prices have surged on fears that the United States is running out of time to build winter fuel supplies, due in part to the impact of Hurricane Ivan, which damaged oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico last month.
US distillate stocks, including heating oil, fell by 2.5 million barrels to 120.9 million last week, to drop more than 8 percent below last year, the US Energy Information Administration said yesterday.
US oil production in the Gulf is still running at about 72 percent of its normal rate of 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) after pipeline and platform damage by Hurricane Ivan, the US Minerals Management Service said on Wednesday.
OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said yesterday record-high world oil prices would continue to rise through the end of October because of strong demand. Crude is already up 65 percent this year. “The oil price will continue to rise through the end of October because demand is still high,” he told reporters. OPEC producers are pumping at just about full capacity to meet rapid demand growth, especially in China and the United States.
Meanwhile, the euro rose to 1.2399 dollars in late European trading from 1.2344 dollars late on Wednesday in New York. The dollar traded at 109.52 yen from 109.65.
European shares ended yesterday at their lowest level in two weeks.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index shed 0.7 percent to end at 997.2 points, its weakest level since Oct. 1, while the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 0.6 percent to 2,776.
Paris’s CAC-40 and Frankfurt’s DAX shed 0.8 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively, while Zurich’s SMI fell 1.1 percent and London’s FTSE 100 lost 0.1 percent.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average skidded 48.82 points, or 0.49 percent, to 9,953.51 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ composite dropped 8.62 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,911.91 at 1535 GMT. Asian share markets closed sharply lower yesterday.
