Reply #3: Pipeline fire worries abate; oil steady [View All]

[ozymandius]

BANGKOK, Thailand - Oil futures were little changed Friday as concerns of a supply disruption from a U.S. pipeline fire abated.

Prices have tumbled more than 7 percent this week amid speculation that supplies are rising and a slowdown in U.S. growth will undercut energy demand.

The fire along the oil conduit from Canada to the Midwest caused a spike in prices above $95 a barrel Thursday — and renewed speculation that oil was as back on its way to $100 a barrel.

But by the end of New York floor trading it was clear most of the network was quickly returned to service and that the fire-damaged section was expected to be back up in days. An offer by the U.S. government to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, if needed, also helped calm markets.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell 3 cents to $90.98 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midmorning in Singapore. On Thursday, the crude contract gained 39 cents to settle at $91.01 a barrel in choppy trading.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices