Oil flat after hitting record $99.29 a barrel

Filed under: Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron Corp (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Commodities, Oil, Headline newsCrude oil was virtually unchanged at $98.02 Wednesday at midday, as traders took a wait-and-see approach following a 1.07-million-barrel drop in weekly crude inventories for the week ending November 16 . Analysts had expected an 800,000-barrel inventory gain, hence Wednesday's draw down struck some traders as an anomaly, perhaps attributable to thinner trading conditions ahead of the [U.S.] Thanksgiving Day holiday. Earlier, crude oil had reached a record $99.29 per barrel in electronic trading. Heating oil gained about 2 cents to $2.70 and unleaded gasoline rose about 1 cent to $2.45. Natural gas dropped 0.007 to $7.470 per million BTUs.Oil Analysis: Fundamental and