WTI falls back below $80 per barrel

Crude oil prices fell back below the $80 per barrel level on Monday as the US dollar gained in relation to the euro and as there were reports that Shell (LSE: RDSA, RDSB; NYSE: RDS.A, RDS.B) has resumed some production at a field in Nigeria that has been closed since February 2006 after it was attacked by militants.

West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was $2.20 lower to $79.02 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while November contracts for Brent crude were down $1.95 to $76.95 per barrel.

Nymex November unleaded gasoline was 5 cents lower to $2 per gallon, while November heating oil fell 6 cents to $2.16 per gallon on persistent hot weather in parts of the United States.

One French analyst said that crude oil prices will be reliant on weather conditions for the next few months, while others believe that there is a slight chance that the price of a barrel of oil could rise to as high as $100 per barrel by the end of the year.

November natural gas also declined, dropping 22 cents to $6.85 per million British thermal units.