SINGAPORE: Oil prices eased in Asian trade on Wednesday as it looked like Hurricane Dolly would spare vital energy production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, dealers said.
They said renewed worries about slower US growth were also weighing on prices.
In morning trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, fell 23 cents to 128.19 dollars a barrel from its Tuesday close of 128.42 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The August contract expired Tuesday at 127.95. Brent North Sea crude for September delivery was off 25 cents at 129.30. "Oil markets believe that Dolly is now unlikely to significantly affect oil production in the Gulf of Mexico," said David Moore, a commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
Some oil drilling companies evacuated personnel from their offshore rigs as companies waited to see where Dolly would make landfall.
Around one quarter of US domestic crude production and 15 percent of natural gas output comes from the Gulf of Mexico.
Traders were also awaiting the release of the weekly US report on energy reserves later Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Platts energy information provider are expecting US crude reserves to decline by 1.9 million barrels, while gasoline stocks are likely to rise by 500,000 barrels.
The Energy Information Administration last week said crude inventories rose by 3.0 million barrels to 296.9 million barrels in the week ending July 11, confounding market expectations for a decline of 2.2 million barrels.
The weekly report on US energy reserves provides investors with clues on oil demand in the United States, the world's biggest energy user.
They said renewed worries about slower US growth were also weighing on prices.
In morning trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, fell 23 cents to 128.19 dollars a barrel from its Tuesday close of 128.42 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The August contract expired Tuesday at 127.95. Brent North Sea crude for September delivery was off 25 cents at 129.30. "Oil markets believe that Dolly is now unlikely to significantly affect oil production in the Gulf of Mexico," said David Moore, a commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
Some oil drilling companies evacuated personnel from their offshore rigs as companies waited to see where Dolly would make landfall.
Around one quarter of US domestic crude production and 15 percent of natural gas output comes from the Gulf of Mexico.
Traders were also awaiting the release of the weekly US report on energy reserves later Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Platts energy information provider are expecting US crude reserves to decline by 1.9 million barrels, while gasoline stocks are likely to rise by 500,000 barrels.
The Energy Information Administration last week said crude inventories rose by 3.0 million barrels to 296.9 million barrels in the week ending July 11, confounding market expectations for a decline of 2.2 million barrels.
The weekly report on US energy reserves provides investors with clues on oil demand in the United States, the world's biggest energy user.
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