Nothing But Politics

[Rick Faurot]

Oil Down $2, Speculators Bet on Kerry Win
Mon Nov 1, 2004 12:59 PM ET

By Richard Mably
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell heavily on Monday, taking U.S. crude below $50 on speculation that a U.S. election win for Senator John Kerry could ease the geopolitical friction that helped fuel this year's record-breaking rally.

U.S. light crude (CLc1: Quote, Profile, Research) fell as low as $49.40 a barrel before retracing by 1745 GMT (1:45 p.m. EST) to $49.70 a barrel, down $2.06. U.S. crude has spent nearly a month above $50, peaking a week ago at $55.67.

London Brent (LCOc1: Quote, Profile, Research) lost $2.28 to $46.80 a barrel.

Energy analysts said a win for the challenger Kerry in Tuesday's U.S. poll could mean lower crude prices than if President Bush is re-elected. Opinion polls put the two neck and neck.

"Under a Kerry administration we'd likely have a much more interventionist SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) policy," said Jamal Qureshi, market analyst at PFC Energy in Washington.