Oil prices hovered below $63 a barrel on Friday after falling from a three-month high in the previous session on unusually warm weather in the United States Northeast.
U.S. crude was up 27 cents at $62.93 a barrel by 1230 GMT, pausing after a more than $1 tumble from Wednesday's highest close for three months.
London Brent crude rose 39 cents to $62.85 a barrel.
The U.S. National Weather Service on Thursday joined a chorus of private forecasters predicting that mild weather would persist into January, extending a period of above average temperatures that has lowered demand for heating fuels.
Temperatures in the U.S. Northeast, the biggest heating oil consuming region in the world, are expected to average as much as 14 degrees Fahrenheit above normal into early next week, according to forecasters DTN Meteorlogix.
U.S. crude inventories were expected to rebound next week as Gulf Coast shipping delays eased following a week of intermittent disruptions due to fog.
But commercial crude and refined product stocks combined were 400,000 barrels lower than the same time a year ago, a sharp fall from a 76 million barrels year-on-year surplus three months ago.
“(A) rebound in demand growth against limited supply growth created the largest October/November U.S. inventory draw on record,” said Goldman Sachs in a report.
The investment bank reaffirmed its positive view on next year but cut its average price forecast by $3 to $72.50 a barrel, still among the industry's highest targets.
A downward revision in U.S. third-quarter economic growth to 2 percent – from a previously reported 2.2 percent annualised rate – sent a bearish signal for fuel demand growth from the world's top consumer.
U.S. crude was up 27 cents at $62.93 a barrel by 1230 GMT, pausing after a more than $1 tumble from Wednesday's highest close for three months.
London Brent crude rose 39 cents to $62.85 a barrel.
The U.S. National Weather Service on Thursday joined a chorus of private forecasters predicting that mild weather would persist into January, extending a period of above average temperatures that has lowered demand for heating fuels.
Temperatures in the U.S. Northeast, the biggest heating oil consuming region in the world, are expected to average as much as 14 degrees Fahrenheit above normal into early next week, according to forecasters DTN Meteorlogix.
U.S. crude inventories were expected to rebound next week as Gulf Coast shipping delays eased following a week of intermittent disruptions due to fog.
But commercial crude and refined product stocks combined were 400,000 barrels lower than the same time a year ago, a sharp fall from a 76 million barrels year-on-year surplus three months ago.
“(A) rebound in demand growth against limited supply growth created the largest October/November U.S. inventory draw on record,” said Goldman Sachs in a report.
The investment bank reaffirmed its positive view on next year but cut its average price forecast by $3 to $72.50 a barrel, still among the industry's highest targets.
A downward revision in U.S. third-quarter economic growth to 2 percent – from a previously reported 2.2 percent annualised rate – sent a bearish signal for fuel demand growth from the world's top consumer.
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