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Follow up to the previous article.
RHM
Oil prices weaken as
storm subsides, Iraq issue simmers =
LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped lower
in thin trade on Friday as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico which had
disrupted crude supplies subsided, although simmering tension over Iraq
continued to support the market.
Benchmark Brent crude oil slipped 22 cents to $28.67 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures also fell 22 cents to $30.19. Earlier in the week, Brent soared to a fresh year-high of $29.88, while U.S. crude hit a 19-month peak of $31.39, but dealers said the market was now pausing for breath. "Basically, we had a good try on the upside this week and we're just taking a breather, waiting for fresh impetus. It's still very much a bull market," said Mark Head of Fimat International Banque. Prices began to fall on Thursday as tropical storm Isidore was downgraded from to a tropical depression by the U.S. National Weather Service. Earlier in the week, the storm forced oil industry operators in the Gulf of Mexico to evacuate crews and turn off about 1.4 million barrels per day of U.S. oil output. But the risk of a U.S.-led military attack on Iraq, potentially disrupting supplies from the oil-rich Middle East, remained at the forefront as the United States stepped up its diplomatic offensive to wrest a tough resolution from the U.N. Security Council. On Friday, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman arrived in Paris, hoping to persuade France to support a U.N. resolution on Iraq backed by a threat of military action. Grossman is also scheduled to fly on to Russia on Saturday to meet officials there. Washington has Britain's backing for a U.S. draft of a Security Council resolution that would warn Iraq of serious consequences if it did not comply with disarmament demands. But France and Russia, also veto-holding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, are wary of giving the green light to U.S. military action. French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said on Thursday everything should be done to avoid war. Copyright 2002, Reuters News Service |