Oil slips as storm Gordon turns out not to be as strong as expected
Singapore — Oil prices fell on Wednesday, partly reversing a strong jump from the previous day, as the effect of a tropical storm on US Gulf coast production was not as strong as initially expected. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $69.47 a barrel at 1.39am GMT, down 40c, or 0.6%, from their last settlement. International Brent crude futures fell 16c, or 0.2%, to $78.01 a barrel. Prices jumped the previous day as dozens of US oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were shut in anticipation of tropical storm Gordon hitting the region. But the storm was shifting eastward late on Tuesday, reducing its threat to producers on the western side of the Gulf and most Gulf Coast refineries. Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia-Pacific at futures brokerage Oanda, said many crude futures traders were "caught long and wrong over the past 24 hours due to tropical storm buying frenzy", adding that "prices pulled back considerably as the magnitude of the storm suggests...
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