Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News were split over whether crude oil prices will fall or be little changed next week amid a weak dollar and ample fuel supplies.

Ten of 27 analysts, or 37 percent, said futures will drop through Nov.
27. Ten more respondents predicted that oil will be little changed.
Seven said futures will rise. Last week, 50 percent of those surveyed
said prices would fall.

“I think we’re still in a very well-defined trading range when it comes
to oil,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in
Chicago. “Oil just can’t stay above $80 a barrel, but by the same token
it can’t seem to stay below $77.”

An Energy Department report on Nov. 18 showed U.S. supplies of crude
oil, gasoline and distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil
and diesel, were above the five-year averages for the period last week.
Total daily fuel demand averaged 18.6 million barrels in the past four
weeks, down 4.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the report.

A weak dollar has bolstered commodity prices over the past two years as
investors purchase raw materials as an alternative investment. The U.S.
currency has dropped 6.3 percent against the euro this year.

Crude oil for December delivery gained $1.11, or 1.5 percent, to $77.46
a barrel so far this week on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures
have traded between $74.79 and $82 since Oct. 15. Prices are up 74
percent this year.

The oil survey has correctly predicted the direction of futures 47 percent of the time since its start in April 2004.

Source: Bloomberg

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