February Brent Crude Trading

Sold off overnight.. common theme these days...
classic..Buy the rumour..

Oil - Brent crude futures higher in nervous trade after Saudi car bombs

LONDON (AFX) - Brent crude futures were higher in pre-market deals as
dealers played catch-up with US oil prices after a false alarm overnight that
Saudi oil infastructure had been hit, analysts said.
At 10.20 am, Brent crude futures for February delivery were up 48 cents at
39.65 usd/barrel, in pre-market deals.
In New York, benchmark February contracts were down 87 cents at 42.80
usd/barrel.
"Brent futures are higher, playing catch-up to US futures because the US
markets traded for longer last night and had a chance to react to the Saudi
bombings," said Informa Global Markets analyst Peter Hills.
US futures rallied last night in a knee-jerk reaction to the news that
OPEC's largest producer Saudi Arabia had been the target of terrorist bombs,
"but the upshot was that none of the Saudi oil infrastructure had been hit," he
added.
Two car bombings in Riyadh last night targeted the Saudi interior ministry
and a special forces building, the latest in a wave of attacks by suspected
Al-Qaeda militants in the kingdom.
Last night, trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange continued until 7.00
pm, whereas The International Petroleum Exchange closed at 6.00 pm, giving US
traders time to react to the news.
Analysts predicted that terrorists will step up their attacks on Iraq's oil
infrastructure and also target Saudi oil facilities in the run-up to the Iraqi
elections scheduled for Jan 30, particularly as Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
has praised the efforts of Iraqi militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Concerns over heightened unrest in the Middle East also played a part in
yesterday's US oil price gains, Hills noted.
raki.kotak@afxnews.com
rak/cmr