Thursday, August 24 2006 18:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Singapore: Oil prices were weaker in Asian hours today (Aug 24, 2006)after an unexpected rise in US gasoline reserves, dealers said.

At 9:45 am (0715 IST) New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, fell three cents to 71.73 US dollars a barrel from its close of 71.76 dollars in the United States yesterday, where it had dropped 1.34 dollars.

Brent North Sea crude for October delivery rose five cents to 72.07 dollars.

The US Department of Energy said yesterday in its weekly report gasoline stocks rose by 400,000 barrels in the week to August 18 to 205.8 million barrels. Analysts had anticipated a decline of more than two million.

The increase was achieved despite robust demand for petrol with many Americans on the roads for summer vacations.



It came also despite the shutdown of about half of output at the gigantic Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska, where British energy giant BP is scrambling to overhaul its pipelines after one sprang a leak.

"It dropped last night because the US (gasoline) inventory seems comfortable, more comfortable than what people thought," said Tobin Gorey, a commodities analyst with Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

"The surprise gain in US gasoline stocks is still having some impact on crude prices in Asian hours," he said.

Crude oil inventories fell by 600,000 barrels to 330.4 million barrels last week, smaller than the drop of 1.35 million barrels forecasted by analysts.