SINGAPORE, Sept 18 - Oil prices hovered just above four-month lows on Thursday, steadying after data eased concerns about tight supplies in the United States but with oil dealers wary about the potential impact of Hurricane Isabel. The storm has swung away from the oil import terminals and major refining area around the U.S. Gulf and is expected to hit the U.S. East Coast later on Thursday. Benchmark October crude <0#CL:> listed on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up seven cents at $27.10 at 0715 GMT, recovering some ground after falling to $26.80 on Wednesday, the lowest level since May.
Crude prices have fallen 14 percent this month and have dropped 32 percent from the 2003 high of $39.99 per barrel largely as concerns over low fuel stocks in the United States have eased. The U.S. government's Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday U.S. stocks had continued to build last week. It said the U.S. sucked in record volumes of crude imports in the week to September 12 at an average of 10.8 million barrels per day, helping crude stocks rise 3.1 million barrels to 279.3 million barrels. Stocks were below the five-year average for the time of year, but the increase in crude oil and refined products inventories in the latest data was greater than analysts had expected. Gasoline stocks rose 2.7 million barrels to 195.3 million barrels. Distillates, which include heating oil, rose 2.9 million to 131.3 million barrels, close to the five-year average for the start of the heating oil season of 133.4 million barrels. U.S. refineries ramp up production ahead of winter to boost heating oil stocks, which rose 2.2 million barrels in the latest week to 52 million barrels.
"People seem to think there's plenty of fuel supply with light demand, especially since we've had mild weather," a New York broker said. But Hurricane Isabel, which has been tracked for more than a week, could threaten fuel supplies, traders said. The storm was churning across the Atlantic Ocean towards North Carolina and Virginia with 110 mph (176 kph) winds and torrential rain. It was expected to hit the North Carolina coast Thursday. So far the storm has prompted some delays in fuel deliveries and precautionary cuts in refinery production. A further slide in oil prices could be food for thought for the OPEC producers' cartel, which controls around half the world's oil exports. Several members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said earlier this month there was no need for the group to change its production ceiling of 25.4 million barrels per day when it meets in Vienna next Wednesday. But U.S. crude has since fallen from above $31 a barrel and OPEC's reference basket of seven crudes stood at $25.59 a barrel on Tuesday, down from almost $29 at the start of the month but well inside the group's target band of $22-$28.//