Oil prices go down. But for how long?

With the US presidential elections approaching, &to=http://english.pravda.ru/economics/2003/03/26/45093.html' target=_blank>world oil prices appear to be going down. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, fell 26 cents to 49.87 dollars a barrel in electronic trading on the day voters head to the polls in the United States.

New York prices dropped 1.63 dollars to settle at 50.13 dollars on Monday after touching a low for the day of 49.30 dollars, informs Channel News Asia.

According to The Globe and Mail, some analysts said the &to=http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/368/14425_kerry.html' target=_blank>possibility of a Kerry win increased the likelihood the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve would be used to drive down the price of crude and heating oil, as a Democratic administration sought a high-profile break with Republican policies. "The market is positioning ahead of the election," said PFC Energy analyst Jamal Qureshi in Washington. "There is a potential Kerry victory. He has said clearly he thinks we should not be filling the SPR right now."

Kerry says he would halt plans to fill the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) at high prices to keep more crude on the market, providing more slack for tight global supplies.

The Massachusetts senator is also seen more likely to push energy conservation measures and alternative fuel sources, curbing demand from the world's biggest consumer, which accounts for nearly one in four barrels used worldwide.