Oil extended losses by half a dollar today as dealers took more profits from last week's record high after US Gulf oil infrastructure escaped damage from a mild storm.
US crude for November fell 48 cents to $80.47 a barrel by earlier this morning, adding to yesterday's 67-cent loss to bring it nearly $4 below the record $83.90 set by the October-month contract last Thursday.
London Brent crude shed 46 cents to $78.45 a barrel.
US crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico rose to 80.7 per cent of capacity yesterday, up from 37 per cent on Friday as oil companies redeployed workers to offshore rigs.
US refiners probably slowed imports of crude last week, causing inventories to fall by about two million barrels, their fifth-straight decline, a poll of analysts showed.
Stocks of distillates, including heating oil, were expected to have risen by 1.3 million barrels while gasoline inventories were seen unchanged, the preliminary poll found.