Brent oil futures trading at $78 on US dollar, oil stocks

Brent oil futures open Tuesday’s trading session lower, hovering around the $78 a barrel mark as the US dollar gained a little strength and analysts guess that this week’s US oil stocks will remain high.

In London, Brent crude oil futures for November 2010 delivery was trading at $77.86, 08.30 GMT on the ICE Futures Exchange, while the US Dollar Index closed yesterday’s session marginally higher at 79.449.

In the US, crude oil stocks likely rose 2.2 million barrels last week, according to analysts surveyed by Platts, while the American Petroleum Institute plans to announce its inventory numbers later today.

Analysts said the market was also looking ahead to next month’s meeting of OPEC member countries, the cartel that accounts for about 40% of the world’s oil output.

They noted that the Kuwaiti oil minister had stated that US WTI oil prices were likely to be between $75 and $80 a barrel in the first quarter of 2011.

Poll – Brent Oil Prices for 2010

Meanwhile a Reuters poll released yesterday forecasts that Brent oil prices will average less than previously expected in the fourth quarter of 2010. Brent crude oil futures are seen averaging $78.25 in the fourth quarter of 2010, slightly down from August’s average forecast of $79.10 a barrel.