LONDON (AFP) — World oil prices eased on Thursday, one day after striking record peaks near to 100 dollars per barrel on concerns over weak crude supplies and the falling dollar.
Investors took a cautious stance to protect their positions since US floor trading was shut Thursday owing to the Thanksgiving holiday, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, fell 39 cents to 96.90 dollars per barrel in electronic trade. The contract had hit an historic high of 99.29 dollars on Wednesday.
Elsewhere Thursday, London's Brent North Sea crude for January delivery slipped 21 cents to 94.63 dollars per barrel, after striking an all-time peak of 96.53 dollars on Wednesday.
"We have come up just short of 100 dollars twice now, so there is strong resistance (there)," Sucden analyst Michael Davies said in London.
Oil prices had failed to top 100 dollars per barrel on Wednesday, despite official data which showed that US energy stockpiles fell more heavily than expected last week.
David Moore, a commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said he had expected prices to rise after the disappointing US energy report.
"I thought the inventory data would be supportive of the market," Moore said. "It may have been investors were cautious ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday."
The US Department of Energy (DoE) announced Wednesday that reserves of US crude oil had sunk by 1.1 million barrels in the week ending November 16.
Analysts' consensus forecast had been for a gain of 750,000 barrels.
The DoE added that US reserves of distillates, including crucial heating fuel and diesel, dived by 2.4 million barrels last week. That was far heavier than market expectations for a drop of 450,000 barrels.
Heating fuel demand is expected to pick up as the Northern hemisphere winter kicks in next month. The US northeast region is the world's biggest user of heating oil.
Moore said the market can expect continued volatility in the weeks ahead as tight global supplies and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to worry investors.
"The oil prices are certainly volatile and the outlook is obviously subjected to a lot of uncertainty. For that reason, we will see oil prices move higher in the near term ... it is still possible for oil prices to go above 100 dollars," he added.
Crude oil prices have surged by about 64 percent since the start of 2007, supported by supply disruptions in key producers such as Nigeria, geopolitical jitters over the Iranian nuclear crisis, and strong demand from China and India.
Oil prices were also winning support from a troubled dollar, which is striking a series of record low points against the surging euro.
A weak greenback encourages demand for dollar-priced commodities because they become more attractive to investors using stronger currencies.
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