Oil hovers at $86 in Asia
SINGAPORE: Oil prices hovered near $86 a barrel Monday in Asia as traders eyed whether a massive crude spill in the Gulf of Mexico would slow imports to the U.S. Benchmark crude for June delivery was down 9 cents to $86.06 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract rose 98 cents to settle at$86.15 on Friday. Oil is near an 18-month high of $87, last touched in early April.
In other Nymex trading in May contracts, heating oil fell 0.27cent to $2.312 a gallon, and gasoline slipped 0.57 cent to $2.3937 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 2.0 cents to $3.940 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude was down 8 cents at $87.36 on the ICE futures exchange.
Asian markets rise as Goldman jitters ease
TOKYO: Asian stock markets rose Tuesday after a mostly higher finish on Wall Street as concerns eased about the U.S. government”s case against Goldman Sachs.
The region”s major benchmarks were up about 0.5 percent while oil regained some ground after a big tumble. The dollar fell against the yen and rose versus the euro.
Japan”s Nikkei 225 stock average added 0.4 percent to 10,955.01as a slightly weaker yen gave support to exporters.
South Korea”s Kospi was up 0.4 percent at 1,713.43, Hong Kong”s Hang Seng advanced 0.6 percent to 21,530.09 and Australia”s benchmark gained 0.3 percent. Stock markets in Taiwan and Singapore also rose, while shares in mainland China fell.
In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.7percent to 11,092.05 as investors set aside some of their concerns about the government”s civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs.
The advance followed a drop of 126 points Friday when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs related to mortgage investments.
Investor worries subsided after reports that the SEC”s vote was split 3-2 along party lines to press its case against Goldman Sachs.
Banking shares rose in Asia, with Japan”s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. up 1.1 percent and National Australia Bank ahead by 2.5 percent.
Benchmark crude for May delivery was up 63 cents at $82.08 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.79 on Monday to settle at $81.45.
In currencies, the dollar rose to 92.57 from 92.47 yen late Monday. The euro fell to $1.3473 from $1.3488.
Oil rises above $82 as stock markets rebound
SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose above $82 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, clawing back a little ground after the fraud case against Goldman Sachs and flight disruptions in Europe from volcanic ash triggered a two-day plunge.
Benchmark crude for May delivery was up 69 cents to $82.14 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil tumbled $1.79 to settle at $81.45 on Monday, after it fell $2.27 on Friday.
A rebound in stock markets helped boost crude prices. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.7 percent Monday as Citigroup Inc. reported better than expected earnings and revenue, and most Asian indexes gained Tuesday.
Stocks dropped Friday after the Securities and Exchange Commission said Goldman defrauded investors by failing to disclose key information about mortgage investments it sold as the housing market was collapsing in 2007.
Oil traders often look to equities as a barometer of overall investor sentiment.
“The stock market proved that lawsuits and courts are no match for profits,” Cameron Hanover said in a report. “That took away one source of selling in oil.”
Investors are also eyeing a huge cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano that has shut down air traffic in most of Europe for five days. Some cities, such as Barcelona and Rome, were beginning to receive flights Tuesday, but most European airports remained shut.
In other Nymex trading in May contracts, heating oil rose 1.38 cents to $2.17 a gallon, and gasoline gained 0.74 cent to $2.26 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 1.7 cents to $3.96 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude”s June contract was up 56 cents at $84.79 on the ICE futures exchange.
Obama presses Hu on yuan exchange rate
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has kept up the pressure on China to revalue its yuan, telling President Hu Jintao to adopt a more “market-oriented” exchange rate for the Chinese currency.
Obama stated his view that it was “important for… a sustained and balanced global economic recovery that China move toward a more market-oriented exchange rate,” said senior National Security Council official Jeff Bader after a face-to-face meeting of the two leaders.
US lawmakers have threatened sanctions against Beijing, saying that China”s action to keep the yuan artificially low against the dollar had resulted in a ballooning US trade deficit and a loss of American jobs.
But Hu delinked the yuan”s value from the US trade deficit or the nearly 10 percent unemployment grappling the United States.
“RMB (renminbi or yuan) appreciation would neither balance Sino-US trade nor solve the unemployment problem in the United States,” Hu told Obama, according to China”s official Xinhua news agency.
The two leaders met in Washington on sidelines of a 47-nation nuclear security summit following a stormy period in US-China relations over the yuan and trade disputes as well as issues such as Internet freedom, Tibet and Taiwan.
International critics say that China keeps the rate of its yuan artificially low against other foreign currencies to boost exports.
But China defends its exchange rate policy as necessary for the survival of Chinese manufacturers and to support jobs growth.
Bader said the yuan issue cropped up as the two leaders reviewed the situation of the global economy, recovering from the worst financial crisis in decades.
Speculation mounted last week that China was preparing to alter its exchange rate policy and allow for the yuan to appreciate, after US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made a hastily arranged visit to Beijing.
Facing election-year pressure over unemployment, US lawmakers had been pushing the US Treasury to label Beijing a “currency manipulator” — a move that would open the door to sanctions by Washington.
But the Treasury announced the delay of a report that was due in mid-April and which could have slapped China with the “manipulator” tag, with Geithner saying there were better ways to advance US interests.
China made its currency a little flexible in 2005 following US pressure but when the global financial crisis erupted in 2008, it repegged the yuan to the US dollar to prop up Chinese exports and revive the economy.
Between 2005 and 2008, China allowed the yuan to appreciate by about 20 percent against the dollar but some experts say the Chinese currency is now undervalued by up to 40 percent.
Obama also asked Hu Monday to remove China”s “market barriers” that have become a concern to American business leaders.
“The president also noted his concern over some market access issues, market access barriers, in China and the need to address them as part of the rebalancing effort,” Bader said.
He did not identify the barriers but a recent US government report to Congress said China had erected new hurdles to foreign competition with rules favoring domestic firms.
The report by US Trade Representative Ron Kirk cited a directive by China stipulating that sellers of high-tech goods must contain Chinese intellectual property for them to be included in a government procurement catalogue.
Accredited products will be favored, according to the policy, which foreign firms say effectively excludes them from the process.
A recent American Chamber of Commerce in China survey found that 38 percent of members felt unwelcome to participate in China”s market, up from 26 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.
The survey cited discriminatory government policies and inconsistent legal treatment.
Oil Slips From $82
SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell below $82 a barrel Thursday in Asia as traders eyed tepid U.S. crude demand amid an overall economic expansion.
Benchmark crude for April delivery was down 51 cents to $81.58 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 60 cents to settle at $82.09 on Wednesday.
Crude prices have hovered in the low $80s this week — after jumping from $69 early last month — on investor optimism that sluggish U.S. oil demand will eventually reflect a growing global economy.
U.S. data for last week was mixed. The Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude inventories grew while gasoline and distillate supplies fell.
Some analysts are concerned economic growth in developed countries may slow in the second half as massive government stimulus spending peters out, making commodity demand even more dependent on growth in emerging markets such as China and India.
“We have actually become more worried about the outlook for the global economy,” London-based Capital Economics said in a report. “The boost from policy stimulus will soon fade. The recovery looks fragile in the U.K. and may already have stalled in the euro-zone.”
Capital Economics said it expects an oil price of $60 a barrel at the end of this year and the end of 2011.
In other Nymex trading in April contracts, heating oil fell 0.77 cent to $2.1085 a gallon, and gasoline dropped 1.41 cents to $2.271 a gallon. Natural gas was almost unchanged at $4.557 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude was down 52 cents at $79.96 on the ICE futures exchange.
Oil Slips Before US Energy Report
SINGAPORE: Oil prices hovered above $81 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed mixed evidence about U.S. crude demand.
Benchmark crude for April delivery was up 5 cents to $81.54 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 38 cents to settle at $81.49 on Tuesday.
Oil has jumped about 17 percent since early last month on increased investor confidence in this year’s global economic growth. But crude demand from the U.S., the world’s largest consumer of oil, has remained sluggish.
Crude inventories jumped last week by 6.5 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute said late Wednesday. Analysts, eyeing a cold weather spell in much of the U.S. this month, had expected a drop of 1.6 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
However, inventories of gasoline and distillates fell more than analysts expected, the API said.
The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration is scheduled to announce its supply report later Wednesday.
In other Nymex trading in April contracts, heating oil rose 0.44 cent to $2.0942 a gallon, and gasoline gained 0.83 cent to $2.2686 a gallon. Natural gas was down 1.1 cents at $4.505 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude was up 9 cents at $80.00 on the ICE futures exchange.
Oil Prices Slightly Fell in Asia
KUALA LUMPUR: Oil prices fell slightly Wednesday in Asia amid a surprise rise in U.S. weekly crude inventory ahead of the release of government data.
Benchmark crude for February delivery was down 10 cents to $78.77 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 10 cents to settle at $78.87 on Tuesday.
Oil has gained for five straight days but traded lower early Wednesday after the American Petroleum Institute reported an increase of 1.725 million barrels in U.S. inventories last week, said Clarence Chu, a trader with Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore.
The rise contradicted market expectations of a drop of 2 million barrels and all eyes are now on the Energy Information Administration weekly data due to be released later Wednesday, he said. The more comprehensive EIA data last week showed crude stocks were down 4.9 million barrels.
Futures contracts for oil, natural gas and heating oil have all become more expensive this month as snow storms blanketed parts of the U.S. and a sharp drop in supplies of crude and other fuels surprised traders.
Despite the year-end rally, analysts have said that oil prices may fall next month as current levels were unsustainable.
In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 0.1 cent to $2.1038 gallon while gasoline added 0.24 cent to $2.013 a gallon.
In London, Brent crude for February delivery fell 4 cents to $77.60 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Oil Prices Slightly Fell in Asia was first posted on December 30, 2009 at 6:14 pm.
Oil Prices Hangs Below $74 in Asia
SINGAPORE: Oil prices hung below $74 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as traders anticipated OPEC will leave crude production levels unchanged at the group’s meeting later in the day.
Benchmark crude for February delivery was up 4 cents to $73.76 at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 70 cents to settle at $73.72 on Monday.
The January contract, which expired Monday, closed down 89 cents at $72.47.
The 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for about 35 percent of global crude supply, will likely keep its production quotas unchanged, the cartel’s leaders said Monday.
Investors will be looking for signs OPEC plans to boost compliance with existing output levels. As the price of oil has more than doubled from a year ago, some OPEC members have increasingly exceeded their quotas, analysts say.
In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil was steady at $1.95 while gasoline rose 0.5 cent to $1.874. Natural gas rose 6.7 cents to $5.74 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude for February delivery fell 2 cents to $72.97 on the ICE Futures exchange.
Oil Prices Hangs Below $74 in Asia was first posted on December 22, 2009 at 2:58 pm.
Oil Prices Hovers Below $79
SINGAPORE: Oil prices hovered below $79 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as investors look to crude demand growth in Asia next year to offset a sluggish US economy.
Benchmark crude for December delivery was down 26 cents to $78.64 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.55 to settle at $78.90 on Monday.
Traders are trying to anticipate the strength of the global economic recovery and how much crude demand may grow during the next 12 months. Some analysts expect demand in Asia, especially China, will help push prices higher amid a moderate U.S. recovery.
“Demand out of the U.S. will be pretty stagnant, but we’re looking at very healthy demand growth out of Asia,” said Alan Plaugmann, a commodities analyst in Singapore. “I think oil fundamentals will tighten and we’ll retain the bull market.
Plaugmann said he expects crude to reach $100 a barrel during the second or third quarter next year.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 0.75 cent to $2.02 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery dropped 1.37 cents to $1.97 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery rose 1.8 cents to $4.63 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude for December delivery fell 27 cents to $78.49 on the ICE Futures exchange.
Oil Prices Hovers Below $79 was first posted on November 17, 2009 at 3:20 pm.
IMF chief to travel to Asia
November 8, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
WASHINGTON: International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will visit Asia this month and meet with Chinese officials to discuss the global economic recovery, an IMF official said. The IMF managing director will arrive first in Singapore, where he is to deliver the 2009 Monetary Authority of Singapore lecture on November 13 on “the role of Asia in reshaping the global economy,” she said.
WASHINGTON: International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will visit Asia this month and meet with Chinese officials to discuss the global economic recovery, an IMF official said.
The IMF managing director will arrive first in Singapore, where he is to deliver the 2009 Monetary Authority of Singapore lecture on November 13 on “the role of Asia in reshaping the global economy,” she said. Strauss-Kahn will visit China on November 16-17.
He will meet in Beijing with Chinese authorities to discuss “the international policy response to the crisis and prospects going forward and the role of Asia,” she said.
