praveen
03-01-2008, 07:55 AM
Oil prices dipped on Thursday after leaping to a lifetime high of $100 the day before amid a new-year rush of investor demand fuelled by expectations of thinning US stockpiles, the falling U.S. dollar and geopolitical risks.
US light crude for February delivery fell 37 cents to $99.25 a barrel in Globex electronic trading by 0017 GMT. US crude traded once at $100 a barrel in the previous session, surpassing the previous $99.29 peak set in November. Oil prices climbed 58 per cent in 2007, the biggest annual gain this decade, and many fund managers were bracing for another year of volatile but rising commodity prices.
Gold also hit a record high on Wednesday. "We still have our maximum quota on oil and we don't see any reason to lighten up our position at all since all the risks are still to the upside," said Justin Wilkes, a fund manager at Global Commodities in Australia.
US light crude for February delivery fell 37 cents to $99.25 a barrel in Globex electronic trading by 0017 GMT. US crude traded once at $100 a barrel in the previous session, surpassing the previous $99.29 peak set in November. Oil prices climbed 58 per cent in 2007, the biggest annual gain this decade, and many fund managers were bracing for another year of volatile but rising commodity prices.
Gold also hit a record high on Wednesday. "We still have our maximum quota on oil and we don't see any reason to lighten up our position at all since all the risks are still to the upside," said Justin Wilkes, a fund manager at Global Commodities in Australia.