Oil Prices in Asian Trade

SINGAPORE : Oil prices fell in Asian trade on Monday as worries over demand and the global economic recovery weighed on investor minds, analysts said.

New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, was down 31 cents to 72.58 dollars a barrel.

London’s Brent North Sea crude for March delivery dropped 32 cents to 71.14 dollars per barrel.

Investors remained concerned over demand woes even as the United States, the world’s largest energy consumer, reported Friday its economy grew at 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter, analysts said. Tony Nunan, a risk manager with Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo, said although the numbers were good, rising inventories were due largely to restocking rather than because of a growth in consumer demand. The US Commerce Department report on gross domestic product (GDP) showed the strongest growth in six years, even though consumer spending, the traditional driver of economic activity, remained sluggish. The big GDP gains came in large part from businesses ramping up production to rebuild inventories, which economists say may skew the picture of overall activity but is a normal part of recovery. Inventories accounted for 3.39 percentage points of GDP.

“The oil market is still concerned about the high (oil) inventories and the economic recovery,” Nunan said.

Oil Prices Up In Asian Trade But Still Below 78 Dollars

SINGAPORE : Oil rose in Asian trade on Friday as investors bought the commodity at more attractive prices, but concerns over the strength of the global economic recovery has injected caution into the market.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, climbed 18 cents to 77.64 dollars a barrel after slumping 2.12 dollars in US trade overnight.

Brent North Sea crude for January rose 23 cents to 77.87 dollars, after dipping 1.83 dollars in London trade.

“The reason that oil is up is probably due to the fact that many investors view pricing below 78 dollars a barrel as a buying opportunity,” said Victor Shum, senior principal at energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.

“The oil market has shown resistance against breaking through the 80-dollar level simply because the sustainability of economic recovery is still uncertain and oil fundamentals are weak.”

New York crude on Wednesday breached 80 dollars a barrel after government data showed crude reserves in the United States — the world’s biggest energy consuming nation — fell by 900,000 barrels in the week ending November 13.

The decline was more than the 600,000 barrels anticipated by the market.

US gasoline or petrol inventories tumbled 1.7 million barrels, confounding expectations for a small gain.

Stockpiles of distillates, which include diesel and heating fuel, fell 300,000 barrels. Analysts had pencilled in a bigger drop of 500,000 barrels.

But pricing failed to hold at 80 dollars following data showing a persistent high level of unemployment in the United States, where consumers are major buyers of the world’s exports and are key to any rebound from the global downturn.

Oil prices are expected to continue trading in a tight range, and with only six more weeks to go before the year ends, “some market participants may want to lock in profits this year,” Shum said

“Oil demand remains very fragile and so that’s going to cap any susbtantial gains in prices,” he added.

Oil Down In Asian Trade After Breaching 80-Dollar Mark

SINGAPORE : Oil prices cooled in Asian trade on Thursday after breaching 80 dollars, spurred mainly by a decline in US energy stocks, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, fell 21 cents to 79.37 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for January delivery was off six cents at 79.41 dollars a barrel.

The New York contract hit 80.33 dollars Wednesday as data from the Department of Energy (DoE), released on the same day, showed US crude reserves fell 900,000 barrels in the week ending November 13.

The decline was more than the 600,000 barrels anticipated by the market.

US gasoline or petrol inventories tumbled 1.7 million barrels, confounding expectations for a small gain.

The DoE added that stockpiles of distillates, which include diesel and heating fuel, fell 300,000 barrels. Analysts had pencilled in a bigger drop of 500,000 barrels.

“The latest report included some mildly bullish points for oil markets,” analysts from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a report.

However they cautioned that “the big picture remains one of still subdued US oil demand.”

Analysts in the US have said the drop in inventory levels was exacerbated by Hurricane Ida, which weakened to a tropical storm earlier this month but led to the closure of some petroleum installations in the Gulf of Mexico.

The US is the world’s biggest energy user and is seen as key to lifting oil demand, which has been hit by the global economic slump.

Oil Falls In Asian Trade

SINGAPORE : Oil weakened in Asian trade on Friday after strong overnight gains, pushed up mainly by a weak US dollar and good news on the US economic front, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery dropped 31 cents to 71.38 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for November delivery tumbled 34 cents to 69.43 dollars.

Both contracts had surged at the close of US trading Thursday as the dollar weakened further against the euro and other currencies.

“Come what may, the dollar has been the major influence on the petroleum prices,” said analyst Phil Flynn at PFG Best.

Analysts expect the dollar to remain weak in the immediate term which should lend support to crude prices.

A weak dollar usually boosts crude prices because the dollar-denominated commodity becomes cheaper for foreign buyers holding stronger currencies.

“The market remains bearish on the US dollar, especially against Asian currencies and commodity currencies,” analysts from Singapore’s DBS bank said in a report.

In late US trading Thursday, the euro rose to 1.4791 dollars against 1.4689 late Wednesday in New York. The single currency at one point bounced briefly above 1.48 dollars, not far from its 12-month high last month.

The US currency in recent days has wobbled on indications its pre-eminence in international financial transactions is coming under sharp scrutiny.

This has sparked a rush into gold, which has hit all-time record highs this week. The New York gold price jumped to a new high of 1,058.48 dollars on Thursday.

Besides the weak dollar, a US government report on Thursday also lent support to crude prices.

The US government said Thursday the number of jobless insurance claims in the week to October 3 fell by 33,000 to 521,000 from the previous week’s 554,000.

It was much lower than the 540,000 forecast by most economists and the lowest level since January 3, when the number of new claims was 488,000.

Oil’s Positive Edge In Asian Trade

SINGAPORE : Oil extended its rise in Asian trade on Tuesday, lifted in part by improved investor sentiment about the global economy’s recovery prospects, analysts said.

Comments by oil kingpin Saudi Arabia that the market was “very stable and healthy” were also seen providing support to prices, they said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery firmed 20 cents to 68.22 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for October delivery put on 37 cents to 66.90 dollars.

“With growth picking up in virtually every country, a self-reinforcing process or positive feedback loop’ is developing,” analysts from Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said in a report.

“Growth in individual countries is stimulating global growth, via trade and confidence channels. This adds to our confidence in the sustainability of the recovery.”

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on arriving in Vienna Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the OPEC crude cartel that current oil price levels were satisfactory.

“The market is in very good shape: very well-supplied,” Naimi told reporters. “The price is good for everybody, consumer (and) producer,” hovering recently between 68 and 73 dollars per barrel, he added.

He reiterated the view of several fellow Opec ministers that further cuts to oil production quotas were unlikely and said Wednesday night’s meeting would seek to enforce compliance with existing reductions “as best we can.”

Saudi Arabia is the top producer among the 12 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), which pumps 40 percent of the world’s crude supplies.

Investor hopes for a global recovery were further raised after US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said over the weekend that global economic growth was “underway” although there were “significant challenges” ahead.

“Actions (by the G20) have pulled the global economy back from the edge of the abyss,” he said in a statement. “The financial system is showing signs of repair. Growth is now underway.

“However, we still face significant challenges ahead,” he said after a G20 ministers’ meeting in London.

Oil prices, which peaked above 147 dollars in July last year before tumbling to 32 dollars in December, have doubled since the start of 2009 and touched the 75 dollar mark last week for the first time in 10 months.