Oil prices mixed in Asian trade

I / Singapore November 11, 2009, 10:12 IST

Crude prices were mixed in Asia today as oil operations resumed in the Gulf of Mexico and following forecasts of a rise in world oil consumption next year, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, gained nine cents to $79.14 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for December delivery fell 10 cents to $77.40 a barrel.

Oil and gas operations restarted in the Gulf of Mexico after closing down ahead of the onset of Hurricane Ida, said the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a report.

"Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico are reboarding platforms and rigs and restoring production following... Ida," the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) said.

The MMS said 43 per cent of US oil production in the Gulf had been shut down due to the storm.

The market also looked to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Tuesday saying that demand for black gold would rise next year, analysts said.

"The EIA forecast world oil consumption to rise by 1.26 million barrels per day in 2010," Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a report.

The prediction followed the International Energy Agency's forecast Tuesday that oil prices, without adjustment for inflation, would be $100 a barrel in 2020 and $115 in 2030.