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OIL futures retreated yesterday, giving back much of the previous session's big gain after the government's November jobs report was not as robust as some traders had hoped. The Labor Department report "wasn't a blockbuster number that would keep feeding the oil bull," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp, in Chicago. The report showed employers added 94,000 jobs to their payrolls in November following October's 170,000 gain. The data quashed the hopes of some oil investors that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by a half percent instead of the more widely expected quarter percent when it meets Tuesday, Flynn said. Interest rate cuts tend to weaken the dollar against other currencies. Oil futures offer a hedge against a weak dollar, and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the greenback is falling. Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell US$1.95 to settle at US$88.28 a barrel on the New

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures traded slightly higher Wednesday, after tumbling over 3% in the previous session, as traders awaited supply data from the Energy Department due later this morning.

Crude oil futures rose yesterday as traders closed out December contracts and also on investors' belief that supplies are not as plentiful as a government report at first suggested. Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose $1.67 to settle at $95.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But January crude, which now becomes the front-month contract, closed $1.26 below that, settling up $1.77 at $93.84 a barrel. December crude had lost 66 cents in the previous session after the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported an unexpected 2.8 million barrel increase in inventories last week. But much of that supply build occurred on the West Coast, where the energy infrastructure is largely isolated from the rest of the U.S., analysts said. "I think the market may have realized overnight that that EIA report wasn't that bearish," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Illinois. Reports that ministers from

World oil prices aimed higher Wednesday after shedding around US$3 the previous day on profit-taking as traders bet on rising energy reserves in the United States. Later Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) publishes its weekly snapshot of American crude oil inventories at 1430 GMT.

ENERGY futures fell yesterday as traders expecting a weakening of demand in the coming months cashed in profits from the previous session's rally. While an encouraging employment report suggested the economy is weathering the problems affecting the subprime mortgage industry, many energy traders and analysts question whether demand for oil and petroleum products will be strong enough in the fourth quarter to support US$80 a barrel oil. Others argue that demand for oil will increase as home heating season progresses. While crude inventories have risen for two straight weeks, supplies of gasoline and distillates including heating oil fell last week. Investors betting demand will tighten in the fourth quarter drove oil prices US$1.50 higher on Thursday. Yesterday, light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 22 cents to settle at US$81.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures ended the week down 44 cents a barrel, or 0.5 percent. Trading yesterday was volatile, with prices alternately rallying and falling. "There's profit-taking going on after yesterday's rally," said Addison Armstrong, an analyst with TFS Energy Futures LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. The quick resolution of many of Thursday's West Coast refinery outages also pressured prices yesterday. November gasoline fell 0.29 cent to settle at US$2.0493 a gallon on the Nymex, ending the week down 1.9 cents, or 0.9 percent. Heating oil futures fell 0.78 cent to settle at US$2.2235 a gallon. Both contracts surged more than 5 cents on Thursday. Natural gas for November delivery fell 33.9 cents to settle at US$7.073 per 1,000 cubic feet. Forecasters see little chance that a series of storms strung from the Gulf of Mexico to the central Atlantic will develop into tropical storms that could threaten critical gas and oil infrastructure. In London, November Brent crude fell 7 cents to settle at US$78.90 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Oil prices have been volatile in recent days as investors have battled over whether demand will grow or weaken in the fourth quarter. "It's a stalemate right now," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. "People really don't know what the next move will be." Energy Department data suggests demand for gasoline is falling, and many analysts think that's a function of this year's record gas prices. But others argue that falling refinery activity and heating oil inventories sugg

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Oil and gas shares rose Wednesday after Chevron set plans for a $15 billion stock buyback and traders kept an eye on an expected drop in U.S. fuel inventories. Oil rose 94 cents to $80.47 on the Nymex, after touching a one-week low in the previous session. The Amex Oil Index rose 1% to 1,459. The Amex Natural Gas Index rose 0.5% to 517. The Energy Department is expected to show a decrease of about 2.15 million barrels of crude-oil supplies in the past week. Meanwhile, the broader market rose despite weak durable goods data amid optimism over a tentative pact between the United Auto Works and General Motors after a two-day strike. Chevron Corp. rose $1.41 to $93.19 after setting plans to buy back up to $15 billion in stock. The stock is nearing its 52-week high of $95.50.