Petrol glut worries hit US oil prices

[NEW YORK] Oil prices in New York dipped on Tuesday but edged up in London as lofty levels of product supplies again pressured the market.

Crude prices have been mostly in decline over the last month as petrol supplies have stayed high despite the arrival of peak summer driving season in the US.

Petrol supplies stand 11.4 per cent above the year-ago level in the United States, according to Department of Energy.

"After hovering above US$50 a barrel in early June, prices have consistently come under pressure, as tightening crude oil fundamentals have been overshadowed by an increasingly problematic glut of refined products," said Robbie Fraser, analyst at Schneider Electric.

"We're worried about the inventories of gasoline," said Bart Melek of TD Securities. "I think we're going to struggle with these lows for a while."

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for September delivery shed 21 cents to US$42.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent North Sea oil for delivery in September rose 15 cents to US$44.87 a barrel in London.

Meanwhile in Nigeria the Niger Delta Avengers militant group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack on a gas pipeline belonging to the state-run oil company.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation officials were not immediately available for comment, but the attack was bound to worsen gas supplies to power plants in a country reeling from daily outages.

AFP