Oil fell below $82 a barrel on forecasts that the relentless frigid weather in the U.S. will moderate and ease demand for heating fuel, analysts said. At 0540 ET, ICE February Brent traded down 34 cents at $80.63 a
barrel, while Nymex June WTI traded down 38 cents at $82.14 a barrel.
However, crude markets are also eying unrest and political uncertainty in Nigeria. “Renewed violence…is helping to sustain bullish sentiment” after an attack on a Chevron pipeline in the Niger Delta caused 20K b/d to be shut in, says Andrey Kryuchenkov of VTB Capital. Concerns also persist over ailing Nigerian president Umaru Yar’Adua. Nigerian regional governors held emergency talks Monday to discuss the country’s power vacuum amid Yar’Adua’s illness.
“Nigeria remains an important exporter of crude oil to the US and to Europe, and problems there are problems here as far as we are concerned,” says Dennis Gartman of the Gartman Letter.
