Crude futures rose back to $49 a barrel Friday, still around lows not seen since February, weighed down by the realities of rising supplies in the United States and falling demand in China, The Associated Press reported. Light, sweet crude for June delivery was up 46 cents at US$49.00 by afternoon in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract had slid nearly US$2 Thursday to settle at US$48.54. The last time crude futures settled below US$49 was Feb. 18. Nymex heating oil and unleaded gasoline were also both up nearly a cent, at US$1.3888 and US$1.4415 a gallon (3.8 liters) respectively. On London's International Petroleum Exchange, June Brent crude futures rose 66 cents a barrel to US$49.00. Steady increases in U.S. inventories have sent crude oil prices down nearly 20 percent since hitting a record US$58.28 in early April. However, the contract remains about 19 percent higher than this time last year. On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Department said domestic crude inventories grew by 2.7 million barrels last week to 329.7 million barrels, or 10 percent above year-ago levels. The Paris-based International Energy Agency also said Wednesday that oil demand in China rose 4.5 percent in the first quarter, a sharp decline from the 19.3 percent year-on-year jump in the first three months of 2004. China is the world's second-largest consumer of crude behind the United States, and increasing demand there has been blamed for dwindling supplies.
