Reply #2: Oil Prices Fall to $66.55 a Barrel

[ozymandius]

SINGAPORE - Oil prices eased Friday as traders monitored the slow pace of recovery on the U.S. Gulf Coast after Hurricane Rita and its possible long-term impact on Northern Hemisphere winter fuel supplies.

Benchmark light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 24 cents to $66.55 a barrel on electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract had closed at $66.79 a barrel, up 44 cents, on Thursday.

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Prices rose overnight on news that Gulf of Mexico oil production had started — but only slightly. The Minerals Management Service said that as of Thursday, 98.6 percent of output was still blocked, allowing a flow of 1.48 million barrels of oil per day. Suspended natural gas production was slightly lower at 79.79 percent, or 7.98 billion cubic feet per day, it said.

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"Every so often, some event occurs... And then the event goes away, but the prices don't go down as far as before," said John Vautrain, vice-president at Texas-headquartered energy consultants Purvin & Gertz.

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