Oil price update
US oil prices steadied above $72 a barrel on Wednesday as traders balanced growing unease over a global credit crunch with fears that a gathering storm in the Gulf of Mexico could disrupt output.
US crude futures rose nine cents to $72.47 a barrel by 0930 GMT, after rising 76 cents the previous session. London Brent crude climbed 15 cents to $70.66 a barrel.
Shell shut in 5 million cubic feet per day of gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and began evacuating non-essential personnel as a precaution.
Other energy companies operating in the Gulf, which produces roughly a third of US domestic oil and gas production, were monitoring the tropical depression, this year's fifth, which formed in the central Gulf.
"The US energy complex is in weather trading mode and actively anticipating supply disruption due to the current tropical storms/depressions," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix.
Tropical Storm Dean also formed in the Atlantic Ocean midway between Africa and the Caribbean on Tuesday, and forecasters said it could become the first Atlantic hurricane of 2007 later in the week, although it was days away from reaching land.
But bullish sentiment was offset by the growing subprime mortgage crisis, which has rattled equity markets.
Global stocks fell as a US fund on Tuesday tried to stop clients withdrawing cash to avoid investments at a discount, while a Canadian trust could not find the funds it needed to repay outstanding asset-backed commericial paper.
"Out later today are the [US oil inventory] numbers, but similar to last week, we think these will be more of a sideshow to the continued turmoil we are seeing in the bond and equity markets," said MF Global Energy in a research note.
Japan's Nikkei sank to a 2007 low and other Asian stock markets slid as much as 6% on Wednesday, as investors shunned risky trades.
European markets also slipped in early trade, led by declines in bank stocks.
OPEC warned on Tuesday that a slowing US economy and the global credit crunch could cut oil consumption this year.
The focus later on Wednesday will shift towards weekly US inventory data, expected to show a decline in crude stocks of 2.3 million barrels for the week through August 10.
Distillate stocks, increasingly in the spotlight as some traders start looking ahead to winter, were seen rising by 1.2 million barrels and gasoline stocks falling by 900,000 barrels. Source
US crude futures rose nine cents to $72.47 a barrel by 0930 GMT, after rising 76 cents the previous session. London Brent crude climbed 15 cents to $70.66 a barrel.
Shell shut in 5 million cubic feet per day of gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and began evacuating non-essential personnel as a precaution.
Other energy companies operating in the Gulf, which produces roughly a third of US domestic oil and gas production, were monitoring the tropical depression, this year's fifth, which formed in the central Gulf.
"The US energy complex is in weather trading mode and actively anticipating supply disruption due to the current tropical storms/depressions," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix.
Tropical Storm Dean also formed in the Atlantic Ocean midway between Africa and the Caribbean on Tuesday, and forecasters said it could become the first Atlantic hurricane of 2007 later in the week, although it was days away from reaching land.
But bullish sentiment was offset by the growing subprime mortgage crisis, which has rattled equity markets.
Global stocks fell as a US fund on Tuesday tried to stop clients withdrawing cash to avoid investments at a discount, while a Canadian trust could not find the funds it needed to repay outstanding asset-backed commericial paper.
"Out later today are the [US oil inventory] numbers, but similar to last week, we think these will be more of a sideshow to the continued turmoil we are seeing in the bond and equity markets," said MF Global Energy in a research note.
Japan's Nikkei sank to a 2007 low and other Asian stock markets slid as much as 6% on Wednesday, as investors shunned risky trades.
European markets also slipped in early trade, led by declines in bank stocks.
OPEC warned on Tuesday that a slowing US economy and the global credit crunch could cut oil consumption this year.
The focus later on Wednesday will shift towards weekly US inventory data, expected to show a decline in crude stocks of 2.3 million barrels for the week through August 10.
Distillate stocks, increasingly in the spotlight as some traders start looking ahead to winter, were seen rising by 1.2 million barrels and gasoline stocks falling by 900,000 barrels. Source
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