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LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell $1 on Monday to a six-week low as concern that inflation may slow economic growth encouraged selling across commodities markets. U.S. crude was trading 98 cents lower at $67.55 a barrel at 0819 GMT after falling more than $1 to its lowest level since April 10. Brent crude was down 84 cents at $67.85. The drop added to a slide of nearly 5 percent last week after signs that the record cost of many raw materials was pushing up the cost of living and hitting consumers' pockets. Rising inflation may force central banks to...

Singapore - Oil rallied above $72 a barrel on Monday, extending a rebound towards record highs as Iran maintained a defiant stance in the face of possible UN sanctions and militants detonated a car bomb in Nigeria. US light, sweet crude zoomed 54 cents higher to $72.42 a barrel by 06:40 GMT, adding to a 91c gain on Friday that helped limit last week's losses to 4.4%. Trading was thin due to holidays in much of Asia and Europe. IPE Brent crude was up 43c at $72.45. "Most people appear to be very nervous and are looking for something to...

SINGAPORE - Oil prices eased Thursday after U.S. government data showed motor fuel demand weakening, apparently in response to higher pump prices. The data also showed that domestic inventories of gasoline shrank for the eighth consecutive week, and that may have moderated the selling, analysts said. Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell 23 cents to $71.70 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled Wednesday at $71.93, down 95 cents. Brent crude for June delivery on London's ICE Futures changed hands at $72 a barrel, down 9 cents. Gasoline futures dropped 2.10...

LONDON - Oil hit a record $74 a barrel Wednesday on fears Iran's intensifying dispute with the West may hit oil supplies and after U.S. gasoline stocks dropped. London's Brent crude settled $1.22 higher at $73.73 a barrel after peaking at a record $74. U.S. gasoline stocks slumped more than 5 million barrels last week, government data released Wednesday showed. It was a larger fall than analysts polled by Reuters expected, and supplies are now nearly 5 percent below last year's level. "The EIA (inventory) data are bullish in light of expectations," said Kyle Cooper, analyst at IAF Advisors in...

Dubai Mercantile Exchange Oman has agreed to supply crude oil to back the planned launch of the Middle East’s first oil futures contract. The government of Oman is working with the new Dubai Mercantile Exchange to launch the crude futures contract this year as oil prices in other markets stand near record levels. The decision by Oman, one of the few Middle East producers not in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is a significant step forward for the DME, as it gives potential users of its crude oil contract the option to take physical delivery or settle financially....

NEW YORK (AP) - A bookstore owner and a jazz musician agreed soon after the Sept. 11 attacks to try to help terrorists in Afghanistan buy weapons and communications equipment to fight American soldiers, the government charged Wednesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor Hou said Abdulrahman Farhane, 51, and the musician, Tarik Shah, 42, spoke with an FBI informant about the plot in Farhane's bookstore in December 2001 "while the ruins of 9/11 were still smoldering." The prosecutor asked that Farhane be held without bail on charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and trying to cover up his...

SINGAPORE - Oil prices rose Monday on persistent supply fears tied to Iran's tense diplomatic standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions and militant attacks in oil-rich Nigeria. Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 53 cents to $68.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in Asian electronic trading. The contract on Friday rose $1.50 to settle at $67.76 a barrel. Heating oil rose 1.16 cents to $1.8185 a gallon while gasoline gained 2 cents to $1.7564 a gallon. March Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose 49 cents to $66.73 a barrel. Prices also rose...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil climbed further on Tuesday as a militant threat to Nigerian oil exports and Iran's standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions kept the market worried about supply disruptions. London Brent crude for March was up 27 cents to $63.45 a barrel by 0329 GMT, after rising 58 cents on Monday. U.S. light crude for February jumped 86 cents to $64.78 in catch-up gains after being closed for a national holiday on Monday. U.S. crude earlier touched $64.95 a barrel, its highest since October 4. Crude flows from Nigeria, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, are being...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil futures fell Tuesday as unseasonably mild weather along the U.S. East Coast spurred hopes that this year's Northern Hemisphere winter could be warmer than expected, weakening demand for heating fuel. Light, sweet crude for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 34 cents to US$57.02 a barrel in Asian electronic trading. The contract fell US$1.36 to settle at US$57.35 a barrel Monday. In London, January Brent fell 53 cents to US$54.35 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. In recent weeks, the market has been fixated on weather patterns in the northeastern U.S.,...

SINGAPORE - Oil futures fell nearly a dollar, dropping below $58 a barrel, as forecasters predicted warmer weather early this week in the U.S. Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market, easing fears of a spike in fuel demand. Light, sweet crude for January delivery slipped 86 cents to $57.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in electronic trading late afternoon in Singapore. In London, January Brent crude rose 29 cents to $55.30 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. "The market's reacting to forecasts that heating oil demand will be 20 percent below normal this week, giving...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Oil dipped to a four-month low under $57 a barrel on Wednesday as dealers braced for a fresh increase in U.S. oil inventories amid unseasonally warm weather. U.S. crude fell as low as $56.82 a barrel in electronic trading, its weakest since July 21. It was trading down 2 cents at $56.96 a barrel by 0746 GMT, extending an 11-week slump that has wiped 20 percent or nearly $14 off prices. London Brent crude was down 3 cents at $55.15. Although some analysts continue to predict a turnaround once temperatures fall and if OPEC opts to cut...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil futures drifted lower Tuesday as an International Energy Agency official said high pump prices have hurt fuel demand. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 6 cents to US$57.63 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract Monday rose 16 cents to settle at US$57.69. In London, December Brent crude fell 8 cents to US$54.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. High oil prices have started dampening global demand and the slowdown in consumption growth could in turn push prices lower, Noe Van Hulst, the International Energy Agency's...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil futures opened the week slightly higher, briefly rising above $58 a barrel, on predictions a cold snap was headed for the northeastern United States, the world's biggest winter heating fuel market. Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose as much as 57 cents to $58.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, before slipping to $57.78. The contract fell to $56.93 a barrel last week before closing at $57.53 Friday. December Brent crude on London's International Petroleum Exchange was 20 cents higher at $55.19 a barrel. Friday's close was the benchmark contract's...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil futures slipped further below $58 a barrel Friday amid reports of rising supply and falling demand. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 9 cents to $57.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in electronic trading in Singapore. On Thursday, the contract fell to $57.80, the lowest level for the front-month contract since July 21. The U.S. Energy Information Administration released data that showed natural gas in storage grew more than expected last week, surpassing a level that many analysts believe is necessary to meet winter demand. The Paris-based International Energy Agency said in...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil prices held steady just below US$60 a barrel on Wednesday after predictions of warmer weather in the United States sparked a big drop two days earlier. Market experts said prospects for rising demand could keep prices at current levels. Light, sweet crude for December delivery gained 5 cent to US$59.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract rose 9 cents to settle at $59.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where a day earlier they had fallen nearly US$1.50 to a level about 15 percent...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil shed nearly a dollar on Monday, sinking below $60 after Hurricane Wilma bypassed storm-battered U.S. oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. light crude fell as low as $59.56 a barrel, the lowest since July 28. It was down 93 cents by 0922 GMT to $59.70, reversing a gain of 61 cents on Friday on fears Wilma could hinder the recovery of oil operations in the Gulf. Prices were 16 percent below the record-high of $70.85 a barrel struck in late August in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. London Brent crude lost 96...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell $1 a barrel on Tuesday as a threatened hurricane was expected to miss rigs and refineries in the U.S. Gulf and the world's top banker said record prices were eroding demand. U.S. crude lost 98 cents to $63.38 a barrel by 1125 GMT, after a gain of 2.8 percent on Monday. London Brent crude was $1.06 down at $59.51 a barrel. Tropical Storm Wilma gained strength in the Caribbean Sea and was expected to become a full-blown hurricane, but its path was set to shift east toward Florida and away from the heart of U.S....

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil climbed back above $62 on Tuesday after the International Energy Agency said it saw no lasting damage to demand that has pushed producers and refiners to the limit and could lead to fuel shortages this winter. There have been signs recently that persistent high prices are taking their toll on the economies of the world's big consumers. Hurricanes that battered U.S. Gulf rigs and refiners catapulted oil to new record highs, finally crimping fuel use. But the IEA, adviser to 26 industrialized nations, forecast demand growth would quicken to 1.75 million barrels per day next year...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a fifth day on Thursday, dipping to their lowest level in two months after U.S. government data showed a drop in oil demand in the world's largest consumer. U.S. crude futures for November slid 19 cents to $62.60 a barrel, having earlier traded as low as $62.23. London Brent crude was down 32 cents to $59.80. Oil prices have fallen sharply from their August 30 record high of $70.85 on signs that soaring costs are eroding demand, offsetting fears over tight supplies in the wake of hurricanes that toppled production platforms and shut...

SINGAPORE -- Oil prices slipped Tuesday after the U.S. government indicated it might release emergency stockpiles of heating oil to combat supply disruptions from recent hurricanes. But energy futures were not expected to continue their retreat for long, analysts said, because a U.S. petroleum inventories report due later in the week was likely to show that Hurricane Rita hurt supply ahead of the coming Northern Hemisphere winter. Midmorning in Singapore, light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 16 cents to $65.31 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 77 cents to settle...