Oil Prices ClimbSorry if this has already been posted.
cheers,
Lucy.
https://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/ArticleNews/story/RTGAM/20050819/woil0819
Friday, August 19, 2005
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oil prices rose nearly $1 (U.S.) a barrel on Friday, bouncing back from lows this week as markets reacted to a fire at a massive refining complex in Venezuela and developments in Ecuador, where protests slowed production.
Markets remained wary over Iran's nuclear ambitions, with expectations that the situation could escalate, said Sandra Ebner, commodities analyst at Deka Bank in Frankfurt, Germany.
“I do expect to see new highs and I would not be too surprised to see oil prices breach the $70 a barrel soon,” Ms. Ebner said.
Light sweet crude for September delivery gained 89 cents to $64.16 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract settled at $63.27 a barrel Thursday, ending four days of declines after reaching a new intraday high of $67.10 on Aug. 12. The September contracts expire Monday.
Gasoline rose nearly 3 cents to $1.8920 a gallon, while heating oil rose by nearly 4 cents to $1.8285.
On London's International Petroleum Exchange, October Brent crude futures gained 97 cents to $63.37 a barrel.
On-edge traders are monitoring world news closely, as any cut in production could be seen as eating into the world's already limited excess capacity.
“The oil market is possibly at that dramatic stage near the end of a big run, when price swings tend to be very dramatic, and the euphoria and panic levels are at extremes,” said Dallas-based independent energy analyst Joe Duarte.
Markets were unsettled after news that a fire broke out late Wednesday at the Amuay refinery in Venezuela, slashing output from a usual 410,000 barrels a day to 150,000. The refinery is part of the Paraguana complex, one of the world's largest refining installations.
Output is expected to return to normal in 48 hours, Venezuelan officials said.
Also in Venezuela on Friday, President Hugo Chavez said the state oil company intends to build three new oil refineries in coming years, and blamed lofty oil prices on geopolitical tensions.
Caracas is the world's fifth largest oil exporting country, and holds the largest conventional oil reserves outside the Middle East.
In Ecuador, security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters in an Amazon oil-hub city Thursday, following five days of demonstrations that slowed crude production to a trickle and forced state-run Petroecuador to tell customers it cannot guarantee overseas deliveries.
The violence came hours after President Alfredo Palacio's government declared a state of emergency late Wednesday in the Sucumbios province.
In Nigeria, hundreds of villagers in Nigeria closed down a Royal Dutch Shell PLC pumping facility, angered over a compensation amount for an oil spill nearly two years ago.
Refinery blackouts in the United States pushed prices into new territory last week, but futures eased this week as traders took profits. Analysts said markets were calmed by the refineries coming back online and the end of summer — and the driving season.
But demand again is expected to pick up for the Northern Hemisphere winter, where jet fuel, heating oil and diesel become high-usage commodities.
© The Globe and Mail