NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil rose on Thursday as forecasts for colder weather in the giant U.S. Northeast heating oil market overcame worries over the economic health of the world's top consumer.
London Brent crude
The gains came amid forecasts for colder weather in the U.S. Northeast starting next week, which gave heating oil prices a boost. Additional support came from production shutdowns in Nigeria and the North Sea.
Oil fell for the second straight day on Wednesday after a
government report showed a large build in crude and gasoline
stockpiles.
"Instead, it seems that problems are getting worse ... We would not be surprised to see a much sharper break in crude oil prices over the next few weeks," said Edward Meir at MF Global.
A Reuters poll showed world oil demand growth losing momentum in 2008 as high prices and a slowdown in the world's industrialized nations led by the United States hit consumption.
(Reporting by Matthew Robinson in New York, Santosh Menon in London and Jonathan Leff in Singapore; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
