By Steve Gelsi
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude oil futures fell 0.4%, or 34 cents to $86.37 in electronic trades on Thursday, as jitters over political strife in the Middle East continue to ease. Analysts at Credit Suisse said in a note to clients on Thursday that even if Egypt disrupts operations at the Suez canal, "it would be a temporary dislocation for the oil market rather than a traditional supply disruption," since traffic through the canal has fallen sharply in recent years on weak European oil demand. "The impact on the oil market is likely to be limited," analysts said. The recent run-up in oil prices was also due to a surge in diesel demand from China, a sharp increase in German heating oil sales on cold weather and stronger-than-expected economic activities and refinery strikes in France. "Historically global oil demand bottoms in May on seasonality, and initial January data suggests that the demand trend this year is in line with the historical seasonality pattern," analysts said.
