Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Oil price hits record above $129
The price of oil rocketed to a record high 129.58 dollars on Tuesday as investors dived into a market driven higher by concerns about tight global energy supplies and strong demand.
After striking the historic summit, New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, pulled back slightly to stand at 129.24 dollars a barrel, up 2.19 dollars on Monday's close.
London's Brent crude contract for July hit an all-time peak of 127.90 dollars Tuesday. It later stood at 127.46 dollars, up 2.40 dollars.
The market was reacting to oil supply disruptions in France and OPEC's unwillingness to hike output, analysts said.
"Overall, (oil) market participants are currently choosing to focus on the supply side, with investors doubting that robust demand for distillate fuels from Asian, Middle Eastern and other emerging market economies would be met with enough supply," said Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.
French fishermen demanding state aid to cope with soaring fuel costs blockaded France's largest Mediterranean oil depot at Fos-sur-Mer on Tuesday, escalating a 10-day protest movement. (AFP)
Friday, May 16, 2008
Saudi Arabia raises oil output
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has increased its output to meet rising demand and to compensate for declining production from other countries.
Ali al-Naimi, the Saudi oil minister, said on Friday that from May 10 the kingdom had raised supplies by 300,000 barrels per day.
Saudi Arabia's output in June will reach 9.45 million barrels per day, al-Naimi said.
The statement came hours after George Bush, the US president, arrived in Riyadh for talks with King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia.
King Abdullah led a red-carpet welcome for Bush and his wife Laura as he landed at King Khaled airport.
Before Bush arrived in Saudi Arabia, Dana Perino, White House spokeswoman, told reporters that oil supply would be on the agenda.
"We do count on the Opec (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) to keep adequate [oil] supplies out there, so the president will talk again with the king about that," Perino said. (Al Jazeera)
Labels: Oil, OPEC, Saudi Arabia, U.S.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Opec warns oil could reach $200
Opec, the oil producing cartel, has warned that the price of crude could keep rising to reach $200 a barrel.
Opec president Chakib Khelil blamed the falling value of the US dollar, which makes other assets, including oil, more attractive for foreign investors.
His comments came as oil prices hit a fresh high, just below $120 a barrel.
Prices were lifted by a strike at a UK refinery that disrupted North Sea production, and supply problems in Nigeria due to pipeline attacks.
BP shut down a key North Sea pipeline at the weekend after staff walked out of the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland in a two-day strike over pensions.
Providing a third of UK oil output, the closure of the Forties pipeline has raised fears about supply shortages. (BBC)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Oil price hits record high 118.45 dollars
Oil prices rocketed to historic highs above 118 dollars on Tuesday, lifted by the tumbling dollar, unrest in Nigeria and OPEC's reluctance to increase output.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, jumped to an all-time high of 118.45 dollars.
At the same time, London's Brent North Sea crude for June hit a record 115.53 dollars a barrel.
"For the moment, there does not seem to be anything stopping the price juggernaut we are seeing in energy," said MF Global analyst Ed Meir.
In the foreign exchange market, the European single currency jumped to the historic 1.60 dollars level following further weak US economic data.
The weak US currency makes dollar-priced commodities like oil cheaper for foreign buyers and therefore tends to encourage demand.
"The (oil) market is still fairly tight, with OPEC reluctant to hike output, blaming speculators and the broad weakness in the dollar for driving prices higher," said Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov. (AFP)
Sunday, April 20, 2008
No need for OPEC to raise output now: president
OPEC president Chakib Khelil said on Sunday that the oil-producer cartel should not increase output now because the market was well-balanced.
"There is no need for OPEC to raise its production now ... Any increase in output will not affect oil prices because there is a balance between supply and demand," Khelil said in comments cited by the KUNA news agency.
Khelil, who is also Algerian Energy Minister, is in Kuwait as part of a delegation accompanying the Algerian president.
"We raised production last year and prices continued to rise ... If we raise output, we will not find buyers for the increase," he said.
On Friday, New York's main oil, light sweet crude for delivery in May, surged 1.83 dollars higher to a record close of 116.69 dollars a barrel. It had earlier hit an intraday all-time peak of 117 dollars.
Khelil however said that the 13-member OPEC has the ability to boost production by two million barrels per (AFP)
Monday, April 7, 2008
Oil prices have risen sharply in recent months
Oil prices have climbed towards $107 a barrel as the rally seen late last week continued.
US light, sweet crude rose 59 cents to $106.82 a barrel, having leapt $2.40 on Friday. London Brent crude, meanwhile, gained 33 cents to $105.22.
The rises were helped as producer group Opec reiterated that it saw no need to increase output.
Investors have also been looking to move out of the weak dollar and into commodities, pushing up the oil price.
"Oil supply to the market is enough and high oil prices are not due to a shortage of crude but rather it is because of the decrease in the dollar's value, shortage of refinery capacity and some political tensions in the world," Opec secretary general Abdullah al-Badri said. (BBC)
Sunday, April 6, 2008
OPEC chief rejects calls for output hike
OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri has rejected calls from oil consuming states for a hike in the cartel's crude output, saying that non-fundamental factors were to blame for current high prices.
"At the moment there is enough oil in the market and no need to change OPEC's output," al-Badri said in Tehran late Saturday after arriving the day earlier for a three-day visit to the Islamic republic.
He blamed the "US economic recession, lack of refining capacity and depreciation of the dollar's value" for the record oil prices, according to state television.
Oil prices leapt above 106 dollars in New York Friday with investor sentiment driven by the weak US dollar, tight energy supplies and more bad news on the US economy. (AFP)
Labels: OPEC
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Oil above $107 on pipeline attack
Oil prices have risen above $107 a barrel after one of Iraq's main export pipelines is blown up.
A company official said damage would cut Basra's exports by a third, adding to supply fears and increasing concern about stability in the region.
The rise extended Wednesday's gains of $4 a barrel after a US report showed lower-than-expected petrol stocks.
A sharp sell-off of all commodities last week took oil below $100 after investors cashed in their gains.
Earlier, the price of New York light sweet crude oil had reached a record high of $111.80.
Another key measure of the oil price, London Brent crude, also rose by $1.20 to $105.18. (BBC)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Oil touches $100 on Saudi remarks
Crude oil prices fell as the dollar strengthened and Saudi Arabia said it was working to expand production.
At one point US light sweet crude fell to $100.02 per barrel in Asian trade. It later stood at $101.65 in New York.
Commodities, including oil, have been sensitive to changes in the dollar's value and the latest rebound for the dollar has weakened oil prices.
Also Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that it is investing in oil infrastructure to help meet future demand.
Saudi Arabia has been under pressure from the US to help ease soaring oil prices.
On Saturday US Vice-President Dick Cheney met Saudi leaders in Riyadh to discuss oil prices.
On Sunday the Saudi, the Supreme Council of Petroleum and Mineral Affairs said in a statement: "The kingdom will work with OPEC countries, other producers and consuming countries towards oil market stability and to avoid the effects of harmful speculation." (BBC)
Labels: OPEC, Saudi Arabia, U.S.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Opec chief sees oil at $80-110
Chakib Khalil, the president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), has said that oil prices will range between $80 and $110 per barrel for the rest of 2008.
Khalil, who is also Algerian energy and mines minister, dismissed on Saturday suggestions that Opec is responsible for the rise in prices.
Instead Khalil, interviewed on Algerian television, blamed the falling value of the dollar and economic problems in the US.
He said that Opec faced pressure from consuming nations, who portray the group as responsible for high oil prices.
"Prices will continue to be high, and the prices for the rest of the year will be between $80 and $110," Khalil said. (Al Jazeera)
Labels: OPEC
Friday, March 21, 2008
Cheney seeks Saudi oil increase (BBC)
US Vice-President Dick Cheney is in Saudi Arabia for talks with King Abdullah which will focus on security and the global energy market.
Mr Cheney's national security adviser said they would discuss "a co-operative way forward" to stabilise oil prices, which have hit record highs.
Oil prices have risen about 16% this year, but the oil producers' cartel, Opec, has declined to raise output.
On Thursday, Mr Cheney held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul.
Afterwards, Mr Cheney called on other Nato member states to increase their commitment to Afghanistan's security in the face of a growing threat from the Taleban. (Link)
Labels: OPEC, Saudi Arabia, U.S.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
OPEC: It's Not Our Fault! (Forbes)
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to keep production on hold Wednesday, a widely-expected move that did little to dispel worries over the current record price of crude oil.
OPEC repeated its mantra that the market was "well-supplied" on Wednesday, arguing that an economic slowdown in the United States and the wider financial crisis would scale back demand in 2008. The cartel's next scheduled meeting is in September, which suggests that it does not see any urgent need to change the supply-demand balance--despite the fact that oil is currently trading at $100 a barrel.
Crude oil prices rose on the news during morning trading in New York, though OPEC's decision was expected. The West Texas Intermediate benchmark gained 1.6%, to $101.14 per barrel, while Brent crude rose 1.6%, to $99.52 per barrel.
"If the prices are high, they are definitely not due to a lack of crude," said Dr. Chekib Khelil, Algerian oil minister and president of OPEC. He said stocks of crude oil were higher than the five-year average, and blamed instead the weak dollar and volatile financial markets for the current commodities boom. (Link)
Labels: OPEC
Monday, March 3, 2008
OPEC chiefs rule out need to raise oil output (AFP)
OPEC ministers gathering here for an output policy meeting insisted Monday that the cartel was not about to increase oil production, as the price of crude struck a record high of almost 104 dollars.
OPEC's president, Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, said the 13-member cartel which produces 40 percent of world oil would not consider an output hike at its official meeting in the Austrian capital on Wednesday.
His views were shared by Kuwait's acting oil minister, Mohammad al-Olaim, while Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi, whose kingdom is the world's biggest producer of crude oil and OPEC's most influential member, refused to address the media on arrival in Vienna. (Link)
Labels: OPEC
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