Others   

OIL surges above US$92 per barrel

Quotes:

Brent oil around 100 dollars in Asia

London-based oil traded at all-time highs around 100 dollars in Asia on Wednesday while New York oil rose above 101 dollars, boosted by an inflow of funds and ahead of an OPEC meeting next week.

In afternoon trade, Brent North Sea crude for April delivery rose 21 cents to 99.68 dollars a barrel after earlier striking a record 100.03 dollars a barrel -- breaking the 100-dollar mark for the first time -- in after-hours electronic trading.

The contract had finished 1.78 dollars higher at 99.47 dollars on Tuesday in London.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, rose 25 cents to 101.13 dollars per barrel after closing up 1.65 dollars at a record 100.88 dollars a barrel on Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract hit a record 101.32 dollars during intra-day trading on February 20.

New York oil reached 100 dollars for the first time in early January.

Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore, said grim economic news and weaker equity markets have led to an inflow of funds to commodities, boosting oil prices.

"Crude oil futures are rising in reaction to some negative economic data which came out yesterday in the US," Shum said.

"With the US dollar reaching new lows against the euro and data that indicates rising inflation in the US, investors are moving money into commodities." US inflation at the wholesale level surged a stronger-than-expected 1.0 percent in January due to rising food and energy prices, a report by the US Labor Department showed.

The monthly rise in wholesale inflation, which tracks prices paid at the farm gate and for goods coming off the factory floor, was the strongest since November.

"Investors are looking for a hedge against inflation in commodities. They are looking for better returns than in the equities market," said Shum.

Also Tuesday the Conference Board private research group released a survey which showed US consumers lost further confidence in their economic well-being this month. Confidence slumped to its lowest level since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, it said.

"The strength in commodities is definitely drawing in investors from equities or other markets right now," said Jason Feer, vice-president and general manager of energy market analysts Argus Media Ltd in Singapore.

"Uncertainty in financial markets is also supportive of pricing," said Feer.

But the "run-up in oil prices" is unlikely to continue into the second half of the year, Feer said, as a poor US economy will weaken demand for crude.

US economic woes would also have "knock-on effects" in China, leading to lower long-term growth in global demand, said Feer.

The euro broke the 1.50-dollar mark for the first time ever Tuesday in the wake of the lacklustre US economic reports that renewed fears the American economy could be falling into a recession.

A weak dollar boosts oil prices because it makes commodities that are priced in the US unit cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies, which tends to encourage demand, traders said.

MF Global analyst John Kilduff said earlier that a report saying OPEC appears to have reduced output for February was helping to strengthen prices.

High oil prices reflect widespread market expectations of a production cut by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which is to meet next Wednesday, OPEC president Chakib Khelil said on Monday.

Traders were awaiting a weekly report on American energy stockpiles to be released later Wednesday, with crude oil stockpiles generally expected to rise for the seventh consecutive week, Shum said.

Dealers said fresh concerns in Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, stoked supply worries. Prices also rose on the back of a continuing Turkish offensive in northern Iraq, they said.

 

Quotes:

World oil prices eased in Asian trading on Thursday after briefly hitting 100 dollars a barrel for the first time, jolting oil-dependent economies.

In morning trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, was 43 cents lower at 99.19 dollars a barrel.

The contract closed 3.64 dollars higher at a record 99.62 dollars in New York on Wednesday after briefly touching a record 100 dollars.

Its previous all-time intraday high was 99.29 dollars on November 21, followed by an all-time closing peak of 96.55 dollars on November 23.

Brent North Sea crude for February was 64 cents lower at 97.20.

In London on Wednesday, the contract soared 3.99 dollars to settle at a record 97.84 dollars per barrel after hitting an intraday historic high of 98 dollars.

The records came on the first trading day of the new year.

"It's going to have a huge impact on overall global inflation," said Steve Rowles, a commodities strategist with CFC Seymour securities in Hong Kong.

He said the immediate trigger boosting prices above the psychologically important 100-dollar level appeared to be violence in Africa's biggest oil producer, Nigeria.

At least 12 people were killed over the New Year's holiday period in Nigeria's oil capital Port Harcourt, raising fears that crude output could be further reduced.

Violence by militants has reduced Nigeria's oil output by about a fifth since the start of 2006.

But Rowles said the market's main focus remains on geopolitical tensions brought to the fore after last week's assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading, said several factors were supporting crude prices: "More violence in Nigeria, concerns about stability in Pakistan, oil-inventory expectations and good old-fashioned cold winter weather." The record oil prices worried investors and, along with a surprisingly sharp slowdown in manufacturing growth in the world's biggest economy, helped US stocks plummet on Wednesday.

Shares on Asian bourses also traded lower Thursday on Wall Street's lead.

Rowles said a clearer picture of the oil market's direction will come next week when trading returns to normal after the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

"The market is still quite thinly traded right now," Rowles said.

He added prices could go over 100 dollars later Thursday when the US Department of Energy releases its weekly inventory report on energy stockpiles, which dealers expect to show another big drop in crude stocks.

American crude reserves -- which provide a safety cushion in the oil producing system -- tumbled by 3.3 million barrels to 293.6 million barrels in the week ending December 21, the sixth weekly decline in a row.

Rowles is expecting a drop of 3.5 million in this week's report.

The simple laws of supply and demand explain part of the rise in global oil prices: growth in demand has been outstripping growth in supply because of underinvestment by producers and strong economic expansion in India and China.

This has led to a decline in spare production capacity, another safety cushion in the system, which means any disruption to supplies from one country cannot be absorbed by another.

Oil prices have quadrupled in five years, propelled by geopolitical tensions, surging demand from Asia and new buying interest from investment funds, analysts say.

A weakening US dollar is also to blame because it makes oil cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies.

 

Oil prices at one-month highs in Asia after Bhutto killing

World oil traded near 97 dollars a barrel in Asia on Friday, its highest level in a month, following the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

The rise in prices was also supported by a US report showing a higher-than-expected drop in US crude stockpiles.

In afternoon trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, was up 36 cents at 96.98 dollars a barrel after closing 65 cents higher in New York.

Brent North Sea crude for February rose 45 cents to 95.23 dollars a barrel after gaining 84 cents in London trade on Thursday.

Trading volumes remained thin amid year-end holiday celebrations.

Crude futures had reached record highs near 100 dollars per barrel in November and Tetsu Emori, a fund manager with Astmax asset management in Tokyo, said the Pakistani crisis and other factors gave renewed support to prices.

"Most of the factors are quite bullish," he said.

Dealers said Bhutto's killing on Thursday, which plunged the nation into crisis and sparked global condemnation and concern, would have a psychological impact on the market even though the country is not an oil producer.

There would be "very serious impact" as ramifications from the violence in Pakistan -- a key US ally in the "war on terror" -- play out, said Steve Rowles, an analyst with CFC Seymour securities in Hong Kong.

"It's not so much what happens in Pakistan. It's what happens in Afghanistan and everywhere else" in the region, Rowles said.

He said the crisis has brought geopolitical issues back to the forefront of market concerns.

There are "rising geopolitical tensions in Pakistan... and that is supportive for the crude market," AG Edwards analyst Eric Wittenauer said during Thursday's trading.

MF Global's John Kilduff said that while oil flows would not be directly affected by the Bhutto killing, "it will suggest further destabilisation in an already unstable region." Bhutto, 54, a two-time former prime minister and head of Pakistan's most powerful political party, was shot in the neck by her attacker before he blew himself up at a political rally in Rawalpindi, killing around 20 people.

Emori said oil prices were also bolstered by huge drawdowns in United States crude stockpiles.

The US Department of Energy's weekly energy report, released Thursday, showed American crude reserves tumbled by 3.3 million barrels to 293.6 million barrels in the week ended Dec 21.

That marked the sixth weekly decline in a row and was almost double market expectations of a 1.75-million-barrel drop.

US energy reserve levels are a key concern for the market because the United States is the world's biggest consumer of energy.

Emori said the market could also expect a fresh inflow of funds beginning around the New Year period.

"So I think the market situation should be more steady," he said. "It's quite supportive."

 

will fall till ard 80 dollars. damn those CB traders of crude. make the world suffer becoz of their profits! pushing up px so much for their greeed.

the current orders are for Feb or later, winter areadi over. dun need oil to heat up the temperature thus there is no much reason to push up as before.

 

Quotes:

Oil prices fell in Asian trade Thursday after OPEC rebuffed pressure and left output unchanged.

The market's muted reaction to a sharper-than-expected drawdown in US crude stocks also reflected growing concerns that high prices may eventually take their toll on consumers.

In afternoon trade New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery fell 69 US cents to 86.80 dollars a barrel from 87.49 dollars in late US trades Wednesday.

Brent North Sea crude for January delivery dropped 64 cents to 87.85 dollars a barrel.

"The subdued price reaction may be due to the markets pondering why OPEC rolled over ... concerns about economic and oil demand growth," said French bank Societe Generale.

OPEC decided at a meeting on Wednesday to maintain its daily production quota at 27.25 million barrels.

The US, the world's biggest energy user, earlier called on the cartel to pump more crude to cool oil prices, which surged to record high levels of above 99 dollars last month.

OPEC, which supplies 40 percent of the world's crude, has insisted it has no control over prices and that the market rally seen during much of the year does not reflect supply and demand fundamentals.

"The market is not controlled by supply and demand ... it is totally controlled by speculators who consider oil as a financial asset," OPEC secretary-general Abdalla al-Badri told a news conference in Abu Dhabi, where the cartel ministers decided to freeze output.

OPEC also announced an extraordinary meeting on Feb 1 in Vienna, "given the need for extreme vigilance in assessing the market during the coming months".

The cartel will still hold its scheduled March 5 meeting.

The US Department of Energy (DoE) said Wednesday inventories of crude plunged by 8.0 million barrels in the week ending Nov 30, far more than the consensus forecast of a drop of 1.25 million barrels.

The DoE said stockpiles of distillates, including heating fuel and diesel, were down 1.4 million barrels in the week, against market expectations for a fall of 300,000 barrels.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia said the market remains volatile and that prices could quickly turn around if sentiment changes again.

"The price action of the past 24 hours highlights that some of the upward stress on oil prices has dissipated," the bank said in its latest report Thursday.

"Still, it should be remembered that sentiment in the oil market can turn very quickly," it said. "There is a risk that the oil price may spike higher in the next two months, especially if there is further hard evidence of a tightening in oil market conditions."