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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices slid below $59 a barrel on Monday as worries about damage to U.S. oil and gas facilities eased following the passage of Hurricane Dennis. U.S. crude for August delivery fell 75 cents to $58.88 a barrel, extending losses of $1.10 on Friday. London's Brent crude shed 83 cents to $57.37 a barrel. "People perceived that the hurricane may not be as damaging as Hurricane Ivan. That's why people are taking profits, but the true extent of the damage is not known yet," said Tony Nunan, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp.'s international energy business. Hurricane Dennis...

WASHINGTON - Oil prices fell below $60 a barrel on Friday, reversing course late in the day as traders booked profits following a runup predicated on the fear of hurricane-related supply disruptions. Early on, crude futures prices rose as high as $61.90 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with traders shrugging off the shock of the London bomb blasts and focusing instead on Hurricane Dennis' approach in the Gulf of Mexico. Traders fear a repeat of last year's Hurricane Ivan, which damaged oil platforms and resulted in months of lost production in the region.But the rally lost steam...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped to a record high above $61 on Thursday as the year's first hurricane threatened already reduced U.S. Gulf production, stoking fears that an active storm season would hamper winter stock-building. U.S. light sweet crude for August delivery hit a high of $61.63 a barrel in early Asian trade, having broken above $61 for the first time on Wednesday. It was trading at $61.51 by 0734 GMT, up 23 cents. Brent crude oil in London climbed 22 cents a barrel to $60.07 after hitting a record high at $60.26. Oil prices have gained some 9...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices held above $60 a barrel on Tuesday as speculators sought to test the resilience of strong world demand and as Iran's presidential election sowed fresh geopolitical worries. U.S. crude futures, which hit a record $60.95 on Monday, were trading 26 cents lower to $60.28 a barrel. Futures closed above $60 the first time since trading started in 1983. London Brent crude slid 33 cents to $58.97 a barrel after hitting a record $59.59 on Monday. Dealers said markets were pausing after U.S. crude crossed the $60 psychological barrier but the bull run would resume. A...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices leapt one percent to a record above $60 a barrel on Monday as robust U.S. demand appeared undaunted by soaring fuel costs, threatening to strain global production capacity later this year. U.S. August crude oil futures traded as high as $60.47 a barrel, up 63 cents, extending a rally that has added 12 percent to prices in two weeks and 39 percent since January. Oil was up 61 cents at $60.45 a barrel by 0216 GMT, surpassing the $60 mark for the first time since it began trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange in...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices soared to a record high above $59 a barrel on Monday, extending last week's surge as a threat against Western consulates in OPEC-member Nigeria jolted traders already worried about tight supplies. Oil climbed more than 9 percent, or nearly $5, last week, drawing buying interest from trend-following hedge funds as prices surpassed the previous early April high. U.S. light crude for July delivery hit a front-month record $59.18 per barrel, before paring gains to stand up 59 cents at $59.06 at 0439 GMT. The August contract rose 62 cents to $59.80 a barrel and contracts...

WASHINGTON - Crude oil prices hit a new high above $58 a barrel on Friday, sustaining a rally built on strong demand for gasoline and diesel and on concerns about refiners' ability to keep up. "This is a pivotal point we're at now," said oil analyst John Kilduff of Fimat USA in New York. "We're one hiccup away from $60."Light sweet crude for July delivery darted $2.02 higher to $58.60 a barrel in late afternoon trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That topped the previous intraday high of $58.28 set on April 4 and the market was all but...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices hit their highest level in over 10 weeks on Friday, extending this week's rally to nearly $57 a barrel as demand in the world's largest consumer showed little signs of succumbing to near record fuel costs. U.S. crude oil climbed 36 cents to $56.94 a barrel in early trading, taking this week's gains to over 6 percent. Prices are now at their highest since early April, when the front month contract reached an all-time peak of $58.28. Prices rallied as fresh U.S. data showed consumption of transport fuels was still brisk, raising concerns about refiners'...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil maintained its steady decline on Monday after OPEC's president said he saw no need to rein in output and oil major Total said it would restart its French refineries after a strike shut five of them. U.S. light sweet crude for July delivery eased 17 cents to $48.48 a barrel in light Asian trade. The June contract expired on Friday after ending down 12 cents at $46.80 a barrel, the lowest front-month closing price in three and a half months. London Brent crude was down 3 cents at $48 a barrel. "OPEC has not shown signs...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Monday after OPEC pledged to keep pumping at almost full tilt even as crude stockpiles in the United States remained abundant. U.S. crude oil prices shed 22 cents to $48.45 a barrel, after making a shaky recovery on Friday from a three-month low. Prices had fallen almost 17 percent from the record high at $58.28 struck in early April. Brent crude oil edged down 30 cents to $48.36 a barrel, erasing Friday's gains. OPEC president Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah said on Sunday the cartel was supplying more than 30 million barrels per day...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices plunged below $50 a barrel on Thursday due to persistently high crude stocks in the United States and concerns of slowing global demand growth, while a strengthening dollar looked to spur further selling. U.S. crude fell 58 cents to $49.87 a barrel, after diving to a low of $49.82. Prices are more than 14 percent below the record-high of $58.28 struck in early April. London's Brent crude oil fell 55 cents to $49.52 a barrel. "We saw a larger-than-expected rise in U.S. crude inventories overnight, which is the key to the big fall. There are...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 1 percent on Monday, hovering at a 10-week low just above the $49 mark as higher OPEC supply and swelling crude stocks in the United States weighed on the market. U.S. light crude dropped to an intraday low of $49.05 a barrel, the lowest since Feb. 22 and almost 16 percent below the record $58.28 struck on April 4. At 0810 GMT, U.S. crude was 52 cents down at $49.20. Markets in Singapore and London were closed for a public holiday. "It's a split market for the time being. Short term it's...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices slid more than a dollar on Wednesday as the third highest weekly import level on record fueled a big rise in U.S. crude inventories. U.S. light crude dropped $1.10 to $53.10 a barrel, more than $5 below the all-time high of $58.28 struck earlier this month. London's Brent crude dropped $1.06 to $53.08 a barrel. Prices plunged after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said U.S. crude stocks rose 5.5 million barrels last week to 324.4 million, the 10th increase in the last 11 weeks. Crude imports poured in at 10.9 million barrels a day,...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices eased for a second day on Tuesday as traders booked profits from a week-long rise after Saudi Arabia said it could quickly tap spare oil production capacity if necessary. U.S. light crude last traded down 31 cents to $54.26 a barrel, extending Monday's 82-cent loss in New York. London Brent crude was down 9 cents to $54.31. Prices were dampened by renewed signs of rising OPEC supply and comments from the world's leading exporter Saudi Arabia that it was ready to tap spare capacity if buyers needed more oil. OPEC oil producers are pumping 30.4...

Oil prices fell on an eight week low on Monday as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries promised an increase in oil production next month, but postponed a hike in the official output ceiling until the cartel’s next meeting in June.IPE Brent for June delivery fell 97 cents to $50.64 a barrel in early morning London trade. May Nymex WTI dropped 61 cents to $49.88 a barrel in electronic trade.US crude futures have fallen about 14 per cent from a record nominal peak of $58.28 reached two weeks ago. Two factors driving down the price of oil were the...

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Oil prices extended a losing streak on Monday, falling briefly to an eight-week low under $50, as growing supplies outweighed worries of rising global demand. U.S. light crude futures traded as low as $49.66 a barrel, the lowest since Feb. 22, before recovering to $50.15, down 34 cents from Friday's close. Brent crude was down 39 cents to $51.22 a barrel, after losing 59 cents on Friday. U.S. crude oil prices have fallen around 14 percent from an all-time peak of $58.28 hit two weeks ago, driven by swelling crude stocks and signs of a sharper-than-expected decline...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday, rebounding from earlier losses, after investors read minutes from the Federal Reserve as reiterating a measured approach to raising rates, while crude oil tumbled to below $52 a barrel.Investors were reassured that the Fed -- which has raised interest rates seven times since June -- would continue to increase the cost of borrowing gradually."What this tells you is ... the most likely path is for the Fed to continue to raise rates at a measured pace in the period ahead rather than becoming more aggressive," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist...

 KUWAIT (Reuters) - OPEC is on track to boost supplies to world markets by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) next month to help build stockpiles ahead of an anticipated demand surge later this year, the cartel's president said on Monday.Six straight days of oil price declines have dropped U.S. oil below $53 a barrel, but Gulf oil producers appear committed to turning up the taps and piling up global inventories.Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah, also Kuwait's oil minister, told Reuters that production from the group's 10 members bound by quotas was expected to rise to 28.5 million bpd in May from...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices slithered further from record peaks on Friday, extending a week-long stretch of losses fueled by rising crude stockpiles in the United States and a strengthening dollar. U.S. light crude prices slid 71 cents to $53.40 a barrel, more than eight percent below Monday's record $58.28. London's Brent crude was down 99 cents at $53.05. Oil prices fell 3 percent on Thursday on the back of U.S. government data showing domestic crude stocks in the world's No. 1 energy consuming nation had climbed to their highest level in nearly three years. Gasoline stockpiles in the United...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose back over $56 a barrel on Thursday as concerns persisted over tightening U.S. gasoline supply ahead of peak summer driving demand. U.S. light crude rose 36 cents to $56.21 a barrel, about $2 below Monday's record at $58.28. Brent crude oil price rose 41 cents to $55.68 a barrel. The U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday that gasoline stocks fell 2.1 million barrels to 212.3 million on strong demand from motorists and despite higher refinery activity. Crude oil inventories in the world's top energy consuming country rose 2.4 million barrels to 317.1...