Oil Prices Steady on Warmer Weather

Oil prices were steady in Asian trading Friday after falling more than US$1 in the previous session on forecasts of warmer-than-average weather in the U.S. Northeast and as shipments returned to normal in the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose a penny to US$62.67 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midmorning in Singapore. The contract on Thursday fell US$1.06 to settle at US$62.66 a barrel.

Meanwhile, shipping operations along the Gulf of Mexico Coast returned to normal after more than a week of disruptions due to dense fog. The delivery problem helped to create a big draw down in last week's oil stocks.