Let's hope for global warming

Well, demand for oil would go down if we had a mild winter. If one believes these global warming models, it is the lowest temperatures that rise, not the high ones. That means milder winters and longer growing seasons.

The US department of energy said US crude oil stocks fell by 1.7 million barrels, in contrast to analyst expectations for a rise.

This takes crude inventories in the US to their lowest level since January as the weather turns colder and demand for heating oil increases, a report by the US Energy Information Administration showed.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) agreed in September to boost crude supplies by 500,000 barrels a day starting in November.

But there is much debate over whether the increase will be sufficient to cater for demand levels in the winter months.

This has led to huge swings in the oil price this week with US sweet, light crude dropping $2.20 on Monday to $79.02 a barrel, while London Brent fell to $76.58 a barrel, down $2.32.