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Crude futures hold steady under US$62 a barrel | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Vienna- Oil prices pulled back Friday after jumping more than US$2 a barrel on buying that reflected expectations of higher fuel demand ahead of the Northern Hemisphere winter.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 58 cents in electronic trading at US$61.20.

December Brent crude futures on London”s ICE Futures exchange _ formerly the International Petroleum Exchange _ fell 69 cents to US$59.83 a barrel.

Crude futures also rose Thursday on U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan”s assessment of the U.S. economy even as he sounded an alarm about the dangers that budget deficits pose to the country”s long-term health.

Greenspan said damage along the U.S. Gulf Coast from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will hurt U.S. economic growth in the near-term, but &#34the economic fundamentals remain firm, and the U.S. economy appears to retain important

forward momentum.&#34

But Greenspan also said U.S. home heating costs are expected to be much higher this winter than a year ago. December heating oil futures fell nearly 3 cents to

US$1.8061 a gallon (3.8 liters) while gasoline dropped nearly a penny to US$1.6175 a gallon, according to a report of The Associated Press.