SINGAPORE, Dec 7 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures eased on
Tuesday after hitting a 26-month high the previous session as
concerns about euro zone debt lifted the dollar.
FUNDAMENTALS
* NYMEX crude for January delivery <CLc1> traded down 35
cents at $89.03 a barrel by 0002 GMT.
* Prices closed 19 cents higher at $89.38 on Monday, the
highest settlement since October 2008.
* The U.S. Federal Reserve could end up buying more than
the $600 billion in government bonds it has committed to
purchase if the economy fails to respond or unemployment stays
too high. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said. []
* The dollar index, which tracks the greenback's
performance against a basket of currencies, edged up 0.3
percent to 79.630 , having fallen in the last three
sessions.
* China's central bank may raise interest rates again this
weekend, the official China Securities Journal reported in a
front page story. []
* Cold weather is expected to continue to tighten energy
supply margins in Europe as below-average temperatures lift
gas and power demand. []
* U.S. heating demand was expected to be 16.3 percent
above normal for the week to Dec. 11, according to the U.S.
National Weather Service. Heating oil demand was forecast at
16.1 percent above normal for the same period. []
* Forward crude oil futures curves have moved into
backwardation -- with forward prices discounted -- for the
first time in more than two years as wintry weather in Europe
and the United States has pushed up heating demand.
[]
* U.S. crude stockpiles likely declined last week by 1.5
million barrels as refiners reduced their imports and used up
more stored supplies to keep inventories low for year-end tax
purposes, a Reuters poll of analysts showed. []
* Stockpiles of distillates including heating oil and
diesel were forecast down 400,000 barrels, extending drawdowns
to the 11th consecutive week, the poll showed. Gasoline stocks
likely rose an average 900,000 barrels, rising for the third
week in a row.
MARKET NEWS
* The euro was under pressure on Tuesday, having fallen to
a record low against the Australian dollar, as the euro zone
appeared split on how to tackle the region's debt crisis.
* Euro-zone finance ministers met on Monday amid pressure
to increase the size of a 750-billion-euro ($1 trillion)
safety net for debt-stricken members in hopes of halting
potential contagion to other countries. []
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
* The following data is expected on Tuesday:
- 1600 U.S. EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook Dec
- 1900 U.S. Consumer credit Oct
- 2130 U.S. API weekly crude stocks Dec 3
- 2130 U.S. API weekly dist. stocks Dec 3
- 2130 U.S. API weekly gasoline stocks Dec 3
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(Reporting by Randy Fabi; Editing by Ed Lane)
