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Oil prices settle below $70

02 July 2009 08:41 (UTC +04:00)

Bakuâ€“ APA-Economics. Crude oil traded little changed after falling in the past two days, as demand for gasoline and diesel in the U.S. remained weak during the recession, Bloomberg reported.

Fuel demand in the worldâ€™s largest energy user in the four weeks ended June 26 fell 5.8 percent from a year earlier, according to a Department of Energy report yesterday. Demand for distillate fuel including heating oil and diesel fell 9.4 percent to 3.4 million barrels a day during the period.
Crude oil for August delivery was at $69.19 a barrel, down 12 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:48 p.m. Singapore time. Prices had risen as much as 43 cents to $69.74. Yesterday, the contract fell 58 cents, or 0.8 percent, to settle at $69.31. Prices are up 55 percent this year.
Supply from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries increased for a third month in June, a Bloomberg News survey showed yesterday. Oil output averaged 28.23 million barrels a day last month, up 55,000 from May, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. The 11 OPEC members with quotas, all except Iraq, pumped 25.86 million barrels a day, 1.015 million more than their target.
Gasoline for August delivery fell as much as 0.9 cent to $1.85 a gallon in New York.
Brent crude oil for August settlement declined as much as 35 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $68.44 a barrel on Londonâ€™s ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was trading at $68.70 a barrel at 1:48 p.m. in Singapore.