Oil Reaches $54 a Barrel on Concern Winter Will Drain Supplies

[leftchick]

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=anzABVbjMs7M&refer=us


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Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose close to a record amid concern refiners will lack the supplies to meet demand for heating fuel during the northern hemisphere winter.

``There's a distinct lack of availability of heating fuels in the U.S. and northwest Europe,'' said Jack Kellet, a senior trader at Standard Bank. ``That's preventing speculators from selling and encouraging commercial players to buy.''

A U.S. Energy Department report today will probably show crude oil stockpiles last week were 5 percent below the level of a year ago, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Hurricane Ivan cut U.S. output to a 55-year low in September and forced refiners to slow processing.

Crude oil reached $54 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10 a.m. in London. That was the second time it's reached that level in 21 years of trading. Tuesday's record was $54.45 a barrel. November Brent rose 26 cents to $50.31 on London's International Petroleum Exchange.

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