Crude futures ease despite fears

Crude futures eased slightly today in light trade as traders looked toward another expected build in US crude stocks, shrugging off another attack on oil fields in Iraq and a looming strike in Africa’s largest exporter Nigeria.

Light, sweet for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was at $47.20 per barrel mid-morning today in Asian after-hours electronic trade, falling 12c from its Friday closing.

The price was nearly $8 per barrel lower than its record close of $55.17, reached twice late last month.

Commercially available crude supplies rose to 291.5 million barrels, the US Energy Department said last week, and the agency’s mid-week oil report has been a major driving force for the downward price shift in recent weeks.

Supplies are likely to rise again this week, traders said.

Output has been reviving in the Gulf of Mexico, where daily production is still about 12% below normal levels but significantly higher than a month ago when oil companies struggled with the damaging after-effects from Hurricane Ivan.