Oil edges up as Atlantic storm Katia begins to brew
Oil futures edged ahead on some slightly more encouraging than expected US economic data on home prices and news that a major new tropical storm is developing in the Atlantic.
Brent October crude was up 75 cents early afternoon to $112.63/barrel while on the New York Mercantile Exchange, October crude rose 63 cents to $87.90 a barrel.
The S&P Case-Shiller home price index showed US house prices fell, as expected, 4.5 per cent in June from a year ago. Analysts however took some heart from the data showing the pace of deterioration in the market is easing a little.
Meanwhile the eleventh storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season has been declared to be in development, with experts forecasting that it could turn into a major hurricane by as early as Sunday.
Its development has heightened concerns for the US oil refiners, terminals and pipelines along the US East coast.
Codenamed Katia, the storm is located about 535 miles west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands.
Notable gainers among the junior oil plays included Lansdowne Oil & Gas (LON:LOGP) up 22.8 per cent to 24 pence by midafternoon. Enegi Oil (LON:ENEG) rose nearly 11 per cent to 12 pence; with SacOil (LON:SAC) ahead 9 per cent to 6 pence.
Fallers included Petro Matad (LON:MATD), down 28 per cent to 57 pence; Nighthawk Energy (LON:HAWK), off 10 per cent to 4 pence; and Xtract Energy (LON:XTR), down 7.5 per cent to 2 pence.
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