IEA's World Energy Outlook sees use resuming upward trend FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures traded marginally lower Tuesday, as the threat posed to Gulf of Mexico oil and gas installations by a tropical storm receded. Crude for December delivery fell 6 cents to $79.37 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. Weak earnings from key companies create mixed trading in U.S. stocks Tuesday. Reports from Dow in members Cat, Coke, DuPont and Merck did nothing to cheer investors. Treasurys rise ahead of Fed debt purchases Bond prices rise as traders gird for the Fed to buy debt maturing 2016 through 2019. Copper slumps as gold inches higher Worries about U.S. economy prompt concern that demand for industrial metal will slump. New GM chief vows cooperation President Obama says his administration won't let the struggling U.S. auto industry 'simply vanish,' as shares of General Motors fall about 25% after the White House says bankruptcy may be an option for both GM and Chrysler. Tropical Storm Ida continued to weaken, moving slowly northward toward the Gulf Coast, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 50 miles an hour, with additional weakening expected later Tuesday. Crude futures had rallied 2.6% on Monday, in part boosted by worries over Ida as well as by sharp weakness in the dollar. "Much will ride on the dollar over the course of the Tuesday session, as there is not much in terms of U.S. macro news that will be out until Wednesday at the earliest," said Edward Meir, analyst at MF Global, in a note to clients. In foreign-exchange dealings, the U.S. currency traded little changed against its major rivals. The dollar index (DXY 75.15, +0.12, +0.16%) edged up to 75.048 but was little changed from 75.042 on Monday. See Currencies. On energy traders' radar screens, the American Petroleum Institute will release data on petroleum inventories at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. It comes before the Energy Information Administration's more closely watched U.S. data due out Thursday at 11 a.m. Eastern, a day later than usual because of the Veterans Day holiday. Analysts polled by Platts expect a buildup of 1 million barrels in commercial crude stocks for the week ended Nov. 6. They also project an increase of 700,000 barrels for gasoline and a decline of 900,000 barrels for distillates on the week. Refinery utilization is expected to edge up 0.4 of a percentage point, to 81%. "Runs generally start to rise throughout November as refiners exit maintenance and increase product output for winter fuel demand, but poor margins may convince refiners to keep production at low levels," said Linda Rafield, senior oil analyst at Platts, in a statement. Also Tuesday, the International Energy Agency released its World Energy Outlook in which it said that global energy use is set to fall this year but will soon resume an upward trend if government policies don't change. In the Paris-based IEA's so-called reference scenario, world primary energy demand is projected to rise by 40% between now and 2030, reaching 16.8 billion tons of oil equivalent. While oil demand has dropped sharply, in the reference scenario it starts recovering in 2010, climbing to 88 million barrels a day in 2015 and then on to 105 million barrels a day in 2030. In last year's outlook, the IEA had projected demand for 2030 to be 106 million barrels a day. Higher oil prices, coupled with a downturn in oil-sector investment, are "a serious threat to the world economy, just as it is beginning to recover," the IEA said. As a result of the financial crisis, investment in exploration and production of oil and natural gas has already been cut by more than $90 billion this year compared with 2008. Southeast Asia's energy demand is projected to expand by 76% over the interval from 2007 to 2030. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will release its monthly report on the oil market on Wednesday.

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