Geopilitical Tensions Ease Crude

Oil prices fell after Kurdish officials said Turkish troops that entered Iraq early Tuesday to pursue Kurdish guerrillas returned to Turkey, reducing worries that the conflict would cut oil supplies from the region.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell 14 cents to settle at $90.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading as low as $88.88 when the Turkish withdrawal was announced. Analysts attributed some of Tuesday's price volatility to the January contract's expiration. February crude fell 97 cents to settle at $90.08 a barrel on the NYMEX.

MCX Crude Oil closed the session at Rs 3530 per barrel down from Rs 3556.

Iraq exports about 1.5 million barrels of oil a day, most of it to Asian customers. Exports have not been seriously disrupted since 2003, when the war in Iraq began _ although the Energy Department says the country's main oil pipeline has been a constant target of insurgents.

January heating oil futures lost 4.25 cents to settle at $2.5554 a gallon on the Nymex, while January gasoline futures gave up 3.11 cents to settle at $2.3043 a gallon. Natural gas rose 10.6 cents to $7.141 per 1,000 cubic feet.