Oil prices were firm on Thursday as low stocks of heating fuel in all major consuming regions fostered supply concerns ahead of winter. London Brent was down just two cents at $44.80 a barrel. U.S. markets were shut for the Thanksgiving holiday after closing at $49.32 a barrel on Wednesday, around $6 off a record peak one month ago. Prices rose on Wednesday after a U.S. government report showed heating fuel stocks in the world's largest energy consumer remained around 14 percent below last year ahead of the winter. A bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. stocks of natural gas -- also used as a heating fuel and for power generation -- fuelled price gains across the energy market. U.S natural gas futures jumped 15 percent on news of the draw. "We think the market is still extremely vulnerable," said Frederic Lasserre, head of commodities research at SG, in a briefing to reporters in Singapore. "If we have a colder winter, we may retest the highs of a month ago." --More 2257 Local Time 1957 GMT
