Oil was
mixed in Asian trade on Thursday ahead of a speech by US Federal Reserve chief
Ben Bernanke, analysts said.
Prices were also underpinned by ongoing unrest in Libya with
analysts saying the North African country may take longer than expected to get
its crude production facilities back to normal.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate light sweet
crude for October delivery fell nine cents to $85.07 a barrel and Brent North
Sea crude for October delivery was 10 cents up at $110.25.
"Over the coming week, crude markets will be looking for
clearer information on the condition of the Libyan oil and gas
infrastructure," said Sanjeev Gupta, who heads Ernst & Young's
Asia-Pacific oil and gas practice.
Oil prices could drop temporarily if the crisis in the
oil-rich North African nation eases, or if leader Moamer Kadhafi is caught,
said SEB Commodity Research analyst Filip Petersson.
"Bearish influences could come from Libya -- eg if
Kadhafi is caught -- but these are likely to be short-lived as the market is
starting to realise that Libya is highly unlikely to be back at pre-war
capacity anytime soon," he said.
Meanwhile, investors were watching for Friday's speech by
Bernanke, which will be scrutinised for signs of whether he will support new
stimulus measures to juice the sluggish economy.
The United States is the world's biggest consumer of oil.
Source : AFP
EmpireMoney.com
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