Reply #52: Oil prices fall below US$65 a barrel as Iran fears ease, U.S. winter stays

[UpInArms]

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/060207/b020714.html

LONDON (AP) - Crude oil prices declined Tuesday as traders' fears eased over possible disruptions to the Iranian oil supply linked to its nuclear ambitions.

U.S. inventory figures are also expected to send a bearish tone to the market, analysts said.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell 45 cents to US$64.66 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. March Brent crude fell 44 cents to US$62.89 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange.

Nymex heating oil lost less than half a cent to US$1.7587 a gallon (3.8 liters), while gasoline declined a cent to US$1.6342 a gallon. Natural gas fell more than 17 cents to US$7.820 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Analysts said prices fell because the market had already factored in the risk to supply posed by Iran's nuclear standoff with the U.S. and other countries, and because of a milder-than-usual winter in the United States.

The International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors voted Saturday to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council, which can impose sanctions, over its nuclear program. Tehran responded by saying it would start full-scale uranium enrichment and bar surprise inspections of its facilities.

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