OPEC not responsible for falling oil price, Gulf Oil Ministers

OPEC not responsible for falling oil price, Gulf Oil Ministers

Unknown   Monday, December 22, 2014

Oil-rich Gulf states have vowed not to cut crude production, blaming speculators and producers outside the OPEC group for tumbling prices.

Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said "the spread of misleading information and speculation" had contributed to the 40% price fall.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi, he also dismissed claims of a Saudi plot to push prices down for political goals.

Ministers from Kuwait and the UAE also said there were no plans to cut output.

Mr Naimi said that if producer countries outside OPEC wanted to restrict output, "they are welcome".

"We are not going to cut; certainly Saudi Arabia is not going to cut."

Kuwait's Oil Minister, Ali al-Omair, said OPEC did not need to cut production and would not consider an emergency meeting.

"I don't think we need to cut. We gave a chance to others [and] they were not willing to do so," he said during the conference in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

In November, OPEC decided to keep its target output of 30 million barrels per day unchanged, leaving the market to balance itself without the group taking action.

Oil Price Rise?

In the past, Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer, has acted to rein in output to support prices.

The decision not to intervene this time prompted conspiracy theories, including that OPEC wanted to undermine the US shale boom and that there was a political plot to reduce oil revenues earned by Russia and Iran.

Mr Naimi denied that politics played a role in the kingdom's oil policy. He said he was not happy about the falling oil price, but added: "Current prices do not encourage investment in any form of energy, but they stimulate global economic growth, leading ultimately to an increase in global demand and a slowdown in the growth of supplies."

Meanwhile, OPEC's Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri told Reuters news agency on Sunday he hoped to see a recovery in the price of oil by the end of next year.

"We hope the price would rebound by the end of the second half of 2015," he said. "We can't see the market now; we have to wait until the end of the second half of 2015 to see how the market [will] react to these low prices."

The world is expected to need less OPEC oil next year as the US shale gas boom accelerates.

Source: BBC.CO.UK 

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Crude Oil futures settled nearly flat

Crude Oil futures settled nearly flat

Unknown   Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Crude futures settled nearly flat Tuesday, taking a break after a decline of three weekly sessions with a round of U.S. supply data barrel, but concerns about demand kept pressure on prices. 

May crude oil (NMN: CLK3) added a penny to settle at $ 88.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after hitting intraday lows below $ 87.  

Prices had posted a loss of more than 6% in the last three trading sessions.Concern about rising U.S. crude inventories, poor domestic demand for refined products and lower IMF forecast global economic growth are among the pressures of oil prices, said Alan Herbst, director of Utilis Advisory Group.

Nymex crude "could easily return among low sessions MUST weekly inventory reports ... show builds additional actions," he said.London, June Brent crude traded (IET: UK: LCOM3) on Tuesday ended below the key $ 100 per barrel level, up 72 cents, or 0.7%, to $ 99.91, after a fall of 2 , 3% in the previous session. 

Based on the most active contract, Brent crude was not installed under $ 100 since July, according to FactSet.A pipeline in Texas. Oil slips to fourth month low Tuesday."Brent Oil prices below $ 100 Define an overview of how global markets are thinking fuels and total global demand today, not only, but in the next two years and more," said Richard Hastings, macro strategist at Global Hunter Securities. 

"The key concepts are downturns in world merchandise trade" - with a sample volume of only a 2% increase in 2012, Hastings said, citing data from the World Trade Organization. 

The market experienced a "disturbing number growth in China, and the shot in the long-term projections of fuel demand, and you have informed caution and reflection in action oil futures," he said.Julian Jessop, head of commodities research at Capital Economics, said in a note Tuesday that $ 100 can become the ceiling for Brent oil in the coming years.

Brent said also is likely to end this year below that level.Nymex oil on Monday fell $ 2.58, or 2.8%, to 88.71 dollars a barrel, the lowest settlement for a most-active contract since late December, according to FactSet.

Oil and other commodities sank Monday after quarterly economic growth and monthly industrial production figures of China was weaker than expected.

The figures raised concerns that demand for raw materials, including oil, are softened.Underscoring those concerns, the International Energy Agency and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last week reduced its global oil demand growth estimates for the year slightly.Economic data on Monday showed U.S. inflation consumer fell 0.2% in March, led in part by lower energy costs.  

Analysts expected a drop of 0.1%.Industrial production grew slightly more than expected, to a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in March.And March housing construction rose to its highest level in nearly five years."The housing starts data were very optimistic, but it's big enough to affect world oil history? Not really," Hastings said. 

Supply data 
The American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly U.S. oil inventory report Tuesday afternoon, to be followed on Wednesday by data from the Energy Information Administration of the U.S..Analysts polled by Platts expect U.S. commercial crude supplies increased 1.25 million barrels in the week ended April 12.

They are also looking for a decline of 1.1 million barrels in gasoline stocks and a fall of 850,000 barrels in distillate inventories."Inventories of crude will continue to rise in the U.S., and if further increases in gasoline stocks are seen, the complex [have] little support", report analysts said Kilduff. 

Last week, the API said crude supplies rose 5.1 million barrels, well above the consensus estimate Platts a 1.4 million barrel increase, while the EIA reported that stocks rose 300,000 barrels.Before the latest updates of supplies, May futures gasoline (NMN: RBK3) rose more than 2 cents, or 0.9%, to $ 2.78 a gallon, after Monday's loss of 1.6%, while heating oil May (NMN: HOK3) fell 2 cents, or 0.8%, to $ 2.81 a gallon.

The prices in the previous session was reduced by 1.5%.Natural gas for May delivery (NMN: NGK13) nailed by 2 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $ 4.16 per million British thermal units. Prices fell 2% on Monday, nearly erasing last week's gains of 2.4%.CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME), the parent company of the metals and energy exchanges in the U.S., said Monday it is raising collateral requirements for trading in natural gas futures by 5, 6%, effective at the close of business on Tuesday.  
Increases margins tend to be implemented in times of market turmoil. Margin increases were also implemented by the reference gold, silver and other precious metals futures contracts.Goldman Sachs recently recommended going short on gold, but on Tuesday, also said natural gas was long.

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U.S. stocks recover from the hardest hit this year

U.S. stocks recover from the hardest hit this year

Unknown   Wednesday, April 17, 2013

U.S. stocks rose sharply on Tuesday as gold rebounded from its worst slump in decades and profits of Coca-Cola Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. beat expectations. 

Tuesday's economic data was also encouraging: the construction of new homes in the United States reached its highest rate in nearly five years in March, exceeding forecasts. The consumer price index, meanwhile, showed that inflationary pressures remained moderate

"Earnings and the report of the housing were the main drivers to change things today," said Andrew Fitzpatrick, director of investments at Hinsdale Associates Inc. in Hinsdale, Illinois at 4 pm ET, 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Dow Jones up to 1.08% 157.12 14,756.32 points. The S & P 500 1.43% SPX added 22.19 points to 1574.56. The Nasdaq Composite COMP +1.50% rose 48.14 points to 3263.62.

For every action that falls almost five obtained in the New York Stock Exchange, where 743 million shares traded. Composite volume exceeded 3.6 billion.

Bond prices slipped, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note 2.43% 10_YEAR used in determining mortgages and other consumer loans rise to 1.72%.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery rose $ 26.30 GCM3 +0.42% to close at $ 1387.40 an ounce, recovering a small piece of what was lost after his fall more pronounced since 1983. Oil prices gained slightly CLK3 +0.03% after a fall of three sessions, beating up 1 cent to $ 88.72 a barrel.

Economic Reports Tuesday had U.S. housing begins to rise 7% in March, paced the apartment building capacity, while consumer inflation fell 0.2% last month and industrial output increased 0.4%.

The housing report boosted optimism entrepreneurship related GWW WW Grainger Inc. 7.17% to 7.2% and 4.20% PHM PulteGroup Inc. to 4.2%.

Part of Dell Inc. Dell 0.00% remained stable after the personal computer maker, said a special committee of its board had reached an agreement with billionaire investor Carl Icahn to limit their ownership as bids from Dell evaluates signing Icahn and a group led by CEO Michael Dell and acquisition specialist Blackstone group.

Goldman Sachs GS shares erased early gains -1.61% to end 1.6% after the investment bank reported first quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations, but the trade income and disappointed and President CEO Lloyd Blankfein took a cautious tone.

Shares of Coca-Cola Co. KO 5.69% rose 5.7% after the beverage maker reported first quarter results that beat expectations, while Target Corp. TGT -0.15% retailer warned profits for the first quarter would be well below expectations, taking a toll on shares of Target.

The fact that Coca-Cola beat estimates a day after similar results from Citigroup Inc. 0.15% C "conveys the overall picture is not as bad as you may be thinking," Fitzpatrick said Hinsdale Associates.

BlackRock Inc. BLK 1.32%, the largest U.S. supplier exchange traded funds, exceeded Wall Street estimates with a 10% increase in first quarter earnings. U.S. USB Bancorp -1.77% matched earnings expectations, while revenues experienced an unexpected drop.

 

Johnson & Johnson 2.12% gained 2.1% after the maker of drugs and medical devices reported first-quarter revenue that beat expectations.

"Fundamentally we feel good earnings coming through, [and] looks set to be the same as the last few quarters", with approximately 60% above expectations, the coincidence of 20% and 20% being short said Chip Cobb, senior portfolio manager at BMT asset Management in Bryn Mawr Trust Co. in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

"We hope and pray that Boston is a singular event, and that's all that will be," said Cobb, Monday pumps in the Boston Marathon that killed three people and wounded another 176, with 17 still in critical condition

 

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Oil settles below $ 94

Oil settles below $ 94

Unknown   Friday, April 05, 2013

Oil futures settled below $ 94 a barrel on Thursday, as comments from European Central Bank President about downside risks to the economic recovery of the region raised concerns about energy demand.

Oil Rig

Prices also fell ahead of the nonfarm payrolls report due Friday, which ran for clues about the pace of recovery in the U.S.

Crude oil futures for May delivery shed 0.23% CLK3 $ 1.19, or 1.3%, to settle at $ 93.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The price, which closed at its lowest level since March 21 have posted a loss of two sessions of 4.1%.

Jim Purpuri and Bucky Walters are part of a group of New Jersey surfers Seaside Heights helped make a surfing destination. Both are rebuilding the damage for the sand, which also destroyed Casino Pier. Video by Jennifer Weiss.

The contract settled at $ 94.45 $ 2.74 a barrel on Wednesday, hurt by a higher than expected increase in crude supplies in the U.S. last week and a slowdown in growth, private payrolls.

Facts oil inventories on Wednesday appeared to be "the straw that broke the camel for this recent spike" in oil, said Matt Smith, commodity analyst at Schneider Electric in Louisville, Kentucky

After Thursday's data-poor jobless claims - Hot on the heels of a weak ADP report on Wednesday, and ahead of NFP Friday - combined with pessimistic comments "from ECB President Mario Draghi to send crude oil lower spiral said.

In the monthly press conference of the ECB, Draghi acknowledged that the recovery in the second half of the year, is still at risk of being thrown off course.

Meanwhile, both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England kept rates at historic lows.

Bloomberg News Enlarge image

The Bank of England and European Central Bank reaffirmed the need for ongoing accommodative monetary policy to support their respective economies, the derailment more, Smith said. That probably fueled worries about energy demand.

In Japan, the nation's central bank pledged to achieve an inflation target of 2% in two years and announced plans to increase purchases of government debt at a rate of 50 billion yen ($ 530,000,000,000).

0.53% Yen USDJPY moved sharply lower, support ICE dollar index DXY 0.07%. But later the index was lower than 82,689 from 82,712 seen on Wednesday night in North America as markets awaited data on nonfarm payrolls United States due Friday and the euro gained more ground against the greenback .

Refineries ramp up production

Weak oil prices have also come to the back of increasing global oil production, a rise in utilization rates of U.S. refineries and lackluster demand for transportation fuels, according to Alan Herbst, a director in the Consultative Group utilis.

The Energy Information Administration U.S. reported Wednesday utilization rate of 84.1% of capacity for the week ending March 29, compared with 83.1% the previous week.

The refineries are increasing gasoline inventories before the summer driving season, Herbst said.

Supplies of about 389 million U.S. barrels are also found in its highest level since 1990, according to EIA data.

In Nymex, gasoline for May delivery fell 0.12% RBK3 1.5 cents, or 0.5%, to $ 2.90 a gallon, while heating oil for the same stay HOK3 months 0.29% almost 4 cents, or 1.3%, to $ 2.96 a gallon.

At the retail level, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline stood at $ 3.636 below $ 3.64 yesterday, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The prices are also down about 10 cents from a month ago and 29 cents below the level a year ago.

Reduced tensions in the Middle East and worries about lackluster economic activity in the Far East are also playing a role in the decline in oil prices, Herbst said, adding that he hopes to see the May crude soften for another $ 1 to $ 1.50 to $ 91.50 per barrel to $ 92 in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere in the energy complex, natural gas May NGK13 0.18% set at 5 cents, or 1.2%, to U.S. $ 3.95 per million British thermal units.

Natural gas futures briefly turned lower after the EIA reported Thursday a drop 94000000000 cubic feet in the U.S. inventory. Analysts polled by Platts expected a decline of between 90 billion cubic feet and 94 billion.

Operators may be anticipating weaker data in the future, said Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures, but the data was clearly favorable compared to the increase of 4 million cubic feet seen during the same period a year ago.

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