Crude oil declined on Tuesday in U.S. trading as December took over as the front-month contract. Light sweet crude for December delivery was at $85.27, down 75 cents on the session. Oil fell as low as $84.82, but was able to pare some of those losses. November crude closed at $87.56 on Monday. Oil dropped by $1.04 on Monday as violence eased in the Middle East. Last week, crude hit a record-high of $90.07, topping $90 for the first time. This is still below the inflation-adjusted record levels of $101.70, reached in April of 1980. Before the recent decline, crude had been trending sharply higher for a little more than a week, adding about $10 to the price in that span. Traders anxiously await Wednesday's inventory report, which could push crude to record numbers again. Last week's data from the Energy Information Administration revealed a bigger than expected increase in crude oil inventories. The report showed that stockpiles increased by 1.8 million barrels in the week ended October 12 following an unexpected decrease of 1.7 million barrels in the previous week. The economic calendar was light on Tuesday. The biggest news of the week will come on Thursday as durable goods data and new home sales data is scheduled to be released, as well as the weekly jobless claims report. On Friday, the University of Michigan will release its consumer confidence report for October.
October 23, 2007 3:44 PM