LONDON, Oct 7: World oil prices rebounded on Friday after steep recent falls caused by signs that the high cost of crude is cooling demand for energy in the United States. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, gained 19 cents to $61.55 per barrel in early deals.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for November delivery added 41 cents to $58.78 per barrel.

Crude oil prices had fallen on global markets on Thursday to the lowest point for more than two months on evidence that energy demand was waning in the world’s biggest consumer of energy.

Prices have lost about $10 in London and New York since recently striking record high points.

Oil prices rocketed to all-time peaks at the end of August, touching $70.85 in New York and $68.89 in London, on supply concerns as Katrina tore through oil rigs and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico, severely disrupting US energy production.

Despite Friday’s gains, prices would “weaken a little bit” from current levels towards the end of 2005, said Global analyst Simon Wardell.

He expected the New York contract to trade at about $60 towards the end of the year and for Brent to be in the high 50s.

“This is primarily because we are seeing some signs that demand is actually beginning to fall and there seems to be plenty of crude around.”

The US Department of Energy said this week that US demand for gasoline (petrol) was 2.6pc lower than a year earlier. Meanwhile, demand for distillates in the world’s biggest consumer of energy has fallen by 3.8 per cent.

“Sentiment has been weak lately because the markets have been focused on the apparently weak demand figures,” Calyon analyst Mike Wittner said.

Nevertheless supply concerns remained, especially with refineries struggling to turn enough crude into heating fuel in time for the northern hemisphere winter.

“If we look at the big picture in the US, the supply-demand balance is in a more serious situation than it appears,” said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures.

Emori cited declines in gasoline and distillates inventories — a situation likely to continue with many refineries still shut owing to Katrina.

“This means if the recovery of refineries is slow, then the production of oil products like gasoline and heating fuel will also be quite slow,” he added.

The DoE has said that US refineries were operating at only 69.8 per cent capacity in the week to September 30, against 86.7 per cent the previous week.—AFP