Oil demand up, prices down in US

Crude oil prices were lower again on Thursday despite new data from the Energy Information Administration which indicated that demand for gasoline, distillate fuel and jet fuel grew by an average annual rate of 2.2 percent in the four weeks ending October 27 over the same period in 2004. Last year’s figures were not used in the comparison due to disruptions following the severe hurricane season. Demand this year averaged over 15.5 million barrels per day. At the same time, imports of crude oil were down even though domestic production has decreased each year in the past three while demand has increased.

Brent crude for December delivery dropped 51 cents to $58.47 per barrel by late afternoon in New York, while West Texas Intermediate crude December contracts were 35 cents lower to $58.36 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.