06.23.2005, 12:52 AM
SINGAPORE (AFX) - Oil prices rebounded in Asian trading hours, with investors again unsettled by early worries of a supply crunch during the northern hemisphere winter, dealers said.
At 11.05 am (0305 GMT) here, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, was up 0.41 usd at 58.50 usd a barrel from its close of 58.09 usd in the US overnight.
Prices had finished lower in US trade after a threatened strike by oil workers in Norway, the world's third largest oil exporter, was averted, dealers said.
Today's upturn, however, shows that investors remain concerned about possible energy shortages in the fourth quarter, when demand for heating oil supplies rises as the northern hemisphere winter begins, they said.
'There certainly does not seem to be much out there to really pull prices back down at the moment,' said Daniel Hynes, a commodities analyst with ANZ bank in Melbourne. 'All signs point towards a continued upward trend.'
He added: 'The market is also still unsettled about the supply side, even though the Norwegian strike has been averted.'
The threat of a strike in Norway had been one factor behind oil prices hitting an all-time high this week of 59.70 usd.
The threatened stoppage had looked set to cripple half of Norway's exports of natural gas and a large portion of its oil production.
However, the Norwegian Oil Industry Association and the white-collar trade union Lederne reached a last-minute agreement on increased wages and bonuses.
The US Department of Energy's stocks report, released yesterday, was in line with market expectations, with crude reserves falling 1.6 mln barrels in the week ending June 17 to 327.4 mln barrels, against projections of a decline of 1.9 mln barrels.
Gasoline inventories rose 200,000 barrels to 215.9 mln in the week. Distillates, used for heating oil and diesel, rose by 1.3 mln barrels to 111.5 mln.
The data were 'almost precisely as expected', Societe Generale analyst Deborah White said.
Analysts had forecast gasoline stocks would rise by 200,000 barrels and distillates by 1.8 mln barrels.
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