Tuesday, Oct 16, 2012
By Jenny Gross
LONDON--Crude oil futures retreated Tuesday as investors took profits on gains at the start of the week.
At 0949 GMT, the November Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange, which expires later Tuesday, was down 48 cents, or 0.4%, at $115.32 a barrel. The December Brent contract was down 4 cents at $114.35 a barrel. The front-month contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading down 18 cents, or 0.2%, at $91.66 a barrel.
"Ahead of expiry, people are looking to close positions," said Andrey Kryuchenkov, vice president of commodities research at VTB Capital.
He said trading on Tuesday should be fairly quiet, with London crude supported at $112 a barrel.
"There's not much to drive the market higher, as demand concerns are still there," Mr. Kryuchenkov said.
The euro-area's rate of inflation was steady in September, holding at 2.6% in the 12 months to September compared with a year ago, the European Union's official statistics agency said Tuesday.
Looking ahead, market participants will keep their eyes on the European Union council summit in Brussels this week.
At 0951 GMT, the ICE's gasoil contract for November delivery was trading $4.75 higher, or 0.5%, at $1,002.50 per metric ton. Nymex gasoline for November delivery was up 65 points, or 0.2%, at $2.8568 per gallon.
Write to Jenny Gross at jenny.gross@dowjones.com; Twitter: @jgginlondon
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 16, 2012 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT)
