LONDON (AP):
OIL PRICES pulled back yesterday in sympathy with a sharp decline in natural gas futures.
However, analysts said oil prices could resume their upward trend on supply fears linked to Iran's stand-off with the West over its nuclear ambitions and continuing unrest in oil-rich Nigeria.
Light sweet crude for March delivery retreated 38 cents to settle at US$68.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March Brent crude at London's ICE Futures exchange fell 27 cents to settle at US$66.16 a barrel.
Natural gas futures slid 70.6 cents, or about eight per cent, to settle at US$8.574 per 1,000 cubic feet due to above-normal winter temperatures in the primary home-heating markets in the United States.
"Warm temperatures now forecast to persist on into early February undercut physical demand for heating fuels," said analyst Tim Evans at IFR Energy Services in New York.
Analysts said market participants remain concerned Iran's dispute with the West over the restarting of its nuclear programme could lead to supply disruptions in the second-largest oil producer within the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.
