By CASSIE WERBER
LONDON--Oil futures were down in London trading Friday as diplomacy efforts concerning Syria continued to lessen fears of a military intervention.
Brent crude for October delivery was down 57 cents, or 0.51%, at $112.06 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, while U.S. crude-oil futures were down 98 cents, or 0.90%, at $107.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. As well as being influenced by the latest on Syria, both falls were in line with moves in equity markets generally.
"The sell-off today is really down to two things: the Syria issue going all the way on the back burner and markets generally selling off" after several days of gains, said Bjarne Schieldrop of SEB Commodity Research.
Russia and the U.S. have recently engaged in discussions on the Syria situation, which makes the possibility of U.S. air strikes much more remote, Mr. Schieldrop said.
The next signposting for the market is likely to come from the Federal Open Markets Committee next week, he added.
With Syria less pressing, analysts are reminding clients that Libya is the most salient fundamental force on the market.
"Libyan output, according to the IEA's September Oil Market Report, fell to a low of 150,000 bpd earlier this month as unrest disrupted refinery production and clogged ports," wrote Kash Kamal at Sucden Financial in a note.
Looking further ahead, the International Energy Agency's most recent data also indicated higher demand and plentiful supply next year. Tamas Varga of PVM said: "So what have we learnt this week regarding next year's oil balance? Two things. Firstly, the reporting agencies think that the global economy is on the mend. This is reflected in higher global oil demand forecasts...Secondly, there will be an abundant supply of crude oil globally."
The ICE's gasoil contract for October delivery was Friday down $3.00 at $948.50 a metric ton, while Nymex gasoline for October delivery was down 61 points at 2.7566 cents a gallon.
