October 24, 2003	Friday	Sha’aban 27, 1424

LONDON, Oct 23: Oil prices edged upwards on Thursday, bouncing back gently from the previous day’s falls when new US energy stockpile figures eased fears of a shortage in winter heating fuels.

The price of benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in December gained six cents to $28.34 per barrel.

New York’s reference light sweet December contract showed a rise of 26 cents to $30.18 in early trade.

Both markets had fallen the previous day after the US Department of Energy said that US stocks of distillate fuel, of which heating oil is a main component, increased during the week ending October 17.

Inventories rose by 2.6 million barrels to 132.4 million, confounding predictions of a 1.0-million barrel decline and alleviating worries about heating fuel shortfalls as the northern hemisphere winter approaches.

The recovery had been helped along by news that US oil major Conoco-Phillips had been forced to shut a gasoline-making plant in Louisiana, said Prudential Bache analyst Tony Machachek.—AFP