TOKYO: US crude futures edged below $82 a barrel on Thursday in early Asian trade, pressured by 
a strong dollar and a supply glut, following overnight gains on the back of a less-than-expected rise in US oil stockpiles.
FUNDAMENTALS
NYMEX crude for December delivery was down 32 cents at $81.88 a barrel by 0004 GMT, after settling up 78 cents at $82.20 on Wednesday.
The market has regained some ground after hitting a more than two-year low of $79.44 on Monday following Goldman Sachs' cut in its price forecast due to higher projected supplies.
London Brent crude for December delivery was down 24 cents at $86.88 a barrel, after settling up $1.09.
Crude inventories in the United States rose by 2.1 million barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations for an increase of 3.4 million barrels, data from the government's Energy Information Administration showed.
Refinery crude runs fell by 79,000 barrels per day, while gasoline stocks dropped by 1.2 million barrels, compared with a 1-million-barrel drop expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Analysts said lower costs at the pump over the past fortnight could have bumped up demand for fuel, particularly the diesel used by trucks, although it was still early to say if inventories wouldn't surge again.
On the industry front, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri said on Wednesday the cartel's oil production is unlikely to change much in 2015 and there is no need to panic at the crude price drop, adding to indications the exporter group is in no hurry to cut output.
He predicted that US tight oil production would slow, and that OPEC should be ready to produce 40 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude by 2020.
Gasoline tankers and barges slowed by stormy weather and a Canadian refinery's supply disruptions had distributors scrambling for barrels in New England, according to refined products traders and marketers on Wednesday.
MARKETS NEWS
US stocks closed with slight losses on Wednesday, finishing off their lows of the session, after the Federal Reserve ended its stimulative monthly bond-buying programme and expressed confidence in US economic prospects.
The US dollar surged higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signalled confidence the US economic recovery remained on track.
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