$61.56 +.09 at 07:20
http://www.nymex.com/lsco_fut_condet.aspx?product=CL&month=June&cmonth=M&year=7&currPrev=C
Oil hovers near 7-week low
Crude prices steady above $61 as investors look at whether current stockpiles can satisfy summer demand.
May 8 2007: 6:03 AM EDT
LONDON (Reuters) -- Oil prices hovered near a seven-week low above $61 Tuesday, as investors looked at crude stockpiles to see whether they could meet upcoming demand.
Despite unseasonally low gasoline stocks in top consumer the United States ahead of peak summer demand, investors have begun focusing on rising crude stockpiles and the promise of increased refinery motor fuel output.
U.S. crude was up three cents at $61.50, having hit its lowest since March 22 in the previous session.
London Brent crude rose 40 cents to $64.84 after an 87-cent drop on Monday that took six-day losses to nearly 6 percent or $4.
"There is increasing confidence that crude oil supplies will be sufficient to meet demand in the U.S. summer driving season," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia in a report.
Weekly U.S. fuel stocks data is due for release on Wednesday. Gasoline inventories were expected to have snapped a 12-week string of draws last week, rising by 100,000 barrels, a preliminary poll of Reuters analysts found. Crude stocks were also expected to have risen again.
Get ready for $4 gasoline
Signs of recovering U.S. oil supplies have outweighed bullish news out of OPEC producer Nigeria, where around a quarter of output is shut following rebel attacks.
Fighters from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta destroyed three major oil pipelines in Nigeria's southern delta on Tuesday, the group said in an email statement.
The MEND said Agip's Brass terminal, which normally exports about 200,000 barrels per day, had been affected. Agip could not immediately be reached.
The news comes a day after villagers with machetes and sticks forced
Chevron (
Charts,
Fortune 500) to shut down an oil production site pumping 42,000 bpd.
Some analysts have said oil's slide -- its longest losing run since early September, but not its steepest -- has been aided by soaring metals markets, which have captured investor attention and limited any bargain-hunt buying.
Tokyo platinum futures prices hit a record high on Tuesday while copper and zinc have also surged.
Poll: Most Americans expect $4 gasoline
Oil refinery capacity on the rise
http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/08/markets/oil.reut/index.htm?postversion=2007050806