Oil rises to record above $98 a barrel
Oil rises to record above $98 a barrel
By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria - Record oil prices edged closer to $100 a barrel Wednesday amid expectations of declining U.S. supplies. The weak dollar and OPEC's apparent reluctance to pump more crude into the market also boosted prices.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose $1.05 to $97.75 a barrel by afternoon in Europe after earlier reaching a record $98.62 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract hit a high of $97.10 Tuesday before closing at $96.70 a barrel, a record settlement 66 percent higher than the close on the first trading day of the year.
That left crude prices within the range of inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. Depending on the how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then would be worth $96 to $103 or more today.
In London, Brent crude rose 86 cents to $94.12 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. A number of North Sea oil platforms were evacuated Tuesday ahead of expected severe weather, and BP PLC said it expects to shut production Thursday from its Valhall oil and gas field.
Traders remain worried about whether supplies will be adequate to meet demand for heating fuel in the approaching Northern Hemisphere winter. News of an attack Monday on an oil pipeline in Yemen added to those concerns.
"The oil market sentiment remains bullish ... there is an overall upward trend toward the $100 level," said Victor Shum, energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "Meanwhile, we can expect extreme volatility where on the one hand some traders will take profit while others will buy back positions."
Global Insight energy analyst Simon Wardell was even more unequivocal.
"The run on $100 ... (a barrel) now seems inevitable," he said in a research note. "In the short term all eyes will be fixed on the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration ... inventory data."
Those figures to be released later Wednesday are expected to show crude supplies dropped last week. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires predict, on average, that crude oil inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels.
FULL STORY
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices;_ylt=AgyNdowE9rWTH31MxW2UyUis0NUE
By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria - Record oil prices edged closer to $100 a barrel Wednesday amid expectations of declining U.S. supplies. The weak dollar and OPEC's apparent reluctance to pump more crude into the market also boosted prices.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose $1.05 to $97.75 a barrel by afternoon in Europe after earlier reaching a record $98.62 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract hit a high of $97.10 Tuesday before closing at $96.70 a barrel, a record settlement 66 percent higher than the close on the first trading day of the year.
That left crude prices within the range of inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. Depending on the how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then would be worth $96 to $103 or more today.
In London, Brent crude rose 86 cents to $94.12 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. A number of North Sea oil platforms were evacuated Tuesday ahead of expected severe weather, and BP PLC said it expects to shut production Thursday from its Valhall oil and gas field.
Traders remain worried about whether supplies will be adequate to meet demand for heating fuel in the approaching Northern Hemisphere winter. News of an attack Monday on an oil pipeline in Yemen added to those concerns.
"The oil market sentiment remains bullish ... there is an overall upward trend toward the $100 level," said Victor Shum, energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "Meanwhile, we can expect extreme volatility where on the one hand some traders will take profit while others will buy back positions."
Global Insight energy analyst Simon Wardell was even more unequivocal.
"The run on $100 ... (a barrel) now seems inevitable," he said in a research note. "In the short term all eyes will be fixed on the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration ... inventory data."
Those figures to be released later Wednesday are expected to show crude supplies dropped last week. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires predict, on average, that crude oil inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels.
FULL STORY
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices;_ylt=AgyNdowE9rWTH31MxW2UyUis0NUE
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