Oil prices hugged the $51 mark in early Asian trade Wednesday, ahead of a key report in Washington on the level of commercially available oil in the United States - the world's largest consumer of crude. Crude prices stood at $50.95 in after-hours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange for November delivery after settling at $51.09 overnight. It hit an intraday high of $51.29 in Tuesday's floor trade. uesday's surge came amid concern among traders about violence in oil-producing giants such as Nigeria and Iraq, and over the slow pace of recovery in Gulf of Mexico oil output - still around 3 million barrels per week below average since Hurricane Ivan hit in mid-September. Oil prices are nearly 70 percent higher than a year ago, but when adjusted for inflation, still remain around $29 below the level reached in 1981.
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