West Texas
Intermediate fluctuated amid forecasts that a report tomorrow will show that
Futures
traded in a 86-cent range. The Energy Information Administration will probably
say crude inventories rose 750,000 barrels last week, according to the median
of nine responses in a Bloomberg survey. Stockpiles of distillate fuel fell to
a five-year low, the survey showed. Prices slipped yesterday after
WTI crude
for January delivery slipped 5 cents to $94.04 a barrel at 10:59 a.m. on the
New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all futures traded was 48 percent
below the 100-day average. Prices are up 2.4 percent this year.
Brent for January settlement rose 11 cents to $111.11 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Volume was 21 percent lower than the 100-day average.