Richard continues to weaken as it heads into Gulf

CANCUN: Tropical Storm Richard weakened to a tropical depression on Monday as it moved across northern Guatemala and headed to Mexico’s Bay of Campeche, where it was expected to dissipate by Wednesday.

The storm is expected to pass near the platforms that produce the bulk of Mexico’s 2.6 million barrels per day of crude oil on Tuesday, but state oil monopoly Pemex said it was only taking usual precautions and all operations were normal.

Most forecasting models suggest Richard will dissipate before nearing major oil and gas installations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and even if the storm did not fizzle out it would

likely be too weak to disrupt output.

Richard dumped moderate rains in the Caribbean resort city of Cancun, and Mexican authorities said there were no injuries or major damage to report.

About 200 villagers returned home after

7 die in rains, landslide in Latin America

At least seven people died in a Caracas slum due to heavy rains from Tropical Storm Matthew, which brought fresh misery to a region were hundreds have been killed in flooding and landslides this year.
An unrelated freak storm in Haiti killed at least five survivors from its devastating January quake and wounded dozens as it blasted through the capital Port-au-Prince, tearing down shabby tent homes, trees and power lines. Tropical Storm Matthew killed its seven victims on Friday in the Santa Ana de Antimano neighborhood after their home was flooded.Caracas fire chief William Martinez said authorities also conducted preventive evictions in other high-risk areas.Thousands of people had been evacuated elsewhere in Central America ahead of Matthew, which made landfall in a lightly populated area of northeastern Nicaragua, then headed west, dumping rain across much of northern Honduras. The storm was moving west-northwest at 24km per hour.

Tropical Storm Karl hits Mexico, some evacuated

CANCUN: Tropical Storm Karl was set to move into the Gulf of Mexico early on Thursday and could reach hurricane strength, potentially threatening major Mexican oil installations.

Mexican state-run oil giant Pemex had not curtailed any operations but said it would monitor Karl’s progress as it approached operations in the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf, where the bulk of Mexico’s 2.55 million barrels per day of oil is produced.

“Karl is about to move over the Bay of Campeche and is forecast to strengthen,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Karl earlier lost strength as it moved inland and had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) at 10 p.m. local time (0200 GMT).

By nighttime on Wednesday, it was 35 miles (60 km) south-southwest of Campeche on the west coast of the Yucatan peninsula.

Karl is likely to regain strength as it crosses the southern

Oil steady near $74

SINGAPORE: Oil was steady near $74 on Thursday as investors turned their attention to upcoming U.S. employment reports, following gains of almost 3 percent a day earlier after positive manufacturing data lifted spirits across markets.

U.S. crude for October delivery CLc1 slipped 8 cents to $73.83 a barrel by 0704 GMT, after a jump of $1.99 on Wednesday. ICE Brent LCOc1 dipped 33 cents to $76.02.

Manufacturing in top oil consumers the United States and China accelerated in August, reports showed on Wednesday, raising hopes record petroleum stockpiles would fall and reviving confidence across markets.

The focus over the next two days was set to turn to lagging U.S. employment indicators, including weekly jobless claims, on Thursday. The nation”s nonfarm payrolls probably fell for a third straight month in August, a survey showed, ahead of a monthly report due on Friday.

“The market was just seeking optimism and this came from strong manufacturing data,” said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil analyst at ANZ.

“Some traders started the new month with new positions. It was a buying opportunity, especially for those who were bullish in the long term. However, the market will be in a wait-and-see mode especially before the payrolls report this Friday.”

U.S. private employers unexpectedly cut 10,000 jobs in August, a report by payrolls processor ADP showed on Wednesday.

But markets shrugged off the negative news from the labour market, after Institute for Supply Management data on Wednesday showed U.S. factory activity rose in August for a 13th straight month.

Investors had been expecting the ISM reading to show a decline in manufacturing from July, which would have fit with recent data showing a slowdown in U.S. growth.

Wednesday”s rally in oil prices was earlier triggered by data showing China”s manufacturing industry accelerated in August, expanding for an 18th consecutive month.

Japan”s Nikkei average rose 1.5 percent on Thursday and China”s key stock index rose 1.3 percent, after the U.S. and Chinese manufacturing data eased investor worries about the global economy.

Global stocks posted their biggest percentage gain this summer on Wednesday, in tandem with a broad-based commodities rally.

But oil market fundamentals were not as constructive. U.S. crude stockpiles rose three times as much as expected in the week to Aug. 27, adding 3.4 million barrels, as refineries cut usage rates, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Distillate supplies fell 739,000 barrels, going against forecasts for an increase and snapping 13 straight weeks of gains, while gasoline inventories declined 212,000 barrels, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, the EIA data showed.

EIA statistics showed total U.S. petroleum stockpiles rose last week to a new high of 1.143 billion barrels, up from 1.139 billion the previous week, for the highest inventory levels since at least 1990, when the EIA began tallying weekly stocks data.

“The fundamentals will still weigh down the market,” Lim said. “Cushing inventories are still relatively high.”

The large build in U.S. total crude stockpiles could deepen the contango in crude markets, when front month futures trade at a discount to later months.

The spread between first- and second-month crude oil contracts ended at $1.50, narrowing from $1.60 on Tuesday, which was the widest level since early June. U.S. crude was also trading close to the biggest discount to Brent crude since May.

Tropical Depression Nine in the eastern Atlantic Ocean strengthened into Tropical Storm Gaston late on Wednesday as it continued on a westerly path that could head for the Caribbean.

Gaston was expected to gain force slowly over the next 48 hours and could become a hurricane by Sunday or Monday. Some early computer models showed it tracking into the Caribbean, but it was too early to say if it would enter the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane Earl in the western Atlantic was upgraded to a Category Four hurricane again, and was expected to sideswipe the U.S. East Coast from the northern Carolinas, making landfall on Canada”s Atlantic coast on Saturday.

Engineers prepare to seal ruptured BP oil well

NEW ORLEANS: Engineers Saturday readied a plan to permanently seal a damaged Gulf of Mexico well, despite delays to the process caused by debris left behind by a recent tropical storm.

As the work continued, incoming BP boss Bob Dudley vowed that the oil giant would not abandon residents affected by the spill after the well is finally sealed.

BP hopes to drown the well in an operation dubbed a “static kill,” in which mud and cement will be injected down into the ruptured wellhead via a cap installed on July 15.

Dudley on Friday said the operation had been pushed back a day, saying “we are hopeful by Tuesday the static kill will have been performed.”

The US pointman on the crisis, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, said Friday the delay was needed to allow engineers to clear debris from the damaged wellhead caused by Tropical Storm Bonnie, which briefly halted spill operations.

Oil rises to near $79, gains 4.35 percent in July

NEW YORK: U.S. crude oil futures turned positive to end the month higher on Friday, shrugging off earlier concerns about the pace of economic growth amid mixed data and lifted by a late rally in refined products futures as August contracts expired.

Front-month crude futures prices ended July up $3.29 or 4.35 percent from the end of June, though for the week the ended six cents or 0.07 percent lower.

U.S. crude for September delivery rose 59 cents to settle at $78.95 a barrel, trading from $76.83 to $79.05.

ICE Brent also rose 59 cents to settle at $78.18 a barrel, having traded from $76.20 to $78.31.

Crude futures slumped early on Friday after data showed economic growth in the United States slowed in the second quarter.

Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate, just under expectations, after a revised 3.7 percent growth pace in the first quarter.

U.S. consumer sentiment slumped in July to the lowest level since November also provided pressure on oil, although there was a slim improvement in late July from early July, according to a survey of consumers.

Also supportive was a report of positive business activity in the U.S. Midwest and another showing a leading indicator index that was stronger helped pull oil prices off their lows.

“While today”s seemingly disappointing GDP report slapped the market down toward yesterday”s lows early…, the complex was again able to rebound … with the help of improved consumer confidence figures as well as an optimistic report regarding Chicago business activity,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president at Ritterbusch Associates in Galena, Illinois.

Sources said end-of-month trading was also a factor in the volatility and that crude prices also gained momentum after an early slump failed to move below the 50-day moving average and support around $76.50 a barrel.

Signs of tepid economic recovery and oil demand growth, along with the rising oil inventories have helped keep oil prices in check as they recovered from a low under $65 in late May.

U.S. stock indexes ended mixed, but the SP 500 index, closely watched by oil traders, closed higher as stocks wrapped up their best month in a year as strong corporate earnings results offset the impact of poor economic data.

While the euro weakened against the dollar, the greenback hit multi-month lows against the Japanese yen and the dollar index also weakened.

A weak dollar often supports prices for dollar-denominated oil, making it cheaper for buyers using other currencies and lowering the value of the dollars producers receive.

Also supportive to oil were two tropical weather systems in the Atlantic Basin, still being given low chances of strengthening into tropical depressions over the next 48 hours by the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

“There is always a reluctance to be too short and then come back after the weekend and there is a real storm threat,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.

Next week, along with the key U.S. July non-farm payrolls report on Friday, traders will be eyeing U.S. oil inventory reports for impact of the supply disruptions caused by Tropical Storm Bonnie.

Wednesday”s report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed crude stocks soared unexpectedly last week.

6 dead in Mexico in floods caused by Alex

MEXICO CITY: Authorities say the death toll in Mexico from flooding caused by former Hurricane Alex has risen to six.

Nuevo Leon state Civil Defense Director Jorge Camacho said Friday the victims died in and around the northern city of Monterrey.

The city was hit by heavy rain on Thursday that swelled the Santa Catarina river, which is normally dry.

The flooding damaged bridges in Monterrey as well as railway tracks in the region.

Alex hit Mexico”s Gulf coast on Wednesday as a Category 2 hurricane before weakening into a tropical storm while moving inland. It dissipated on Thursday.

Alex had earlier battered Central America, causing flooding and rock-slides that killed two people in Guatemala and two in El Salvador.

Oil falls below $78

SINGAPORE: Oil fell to below $78 on Tuesday as forecasts indicated tropical storm Alex would skirt the main production region in the U.

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Oil falls below $78

NKorea says it must bolster nuclear capability

SEOUL: North Korea said Monday it must bolster its nuclear capability to cope with hostile U.

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NKorea says it must bolster nuclear capability

Asian stock markets post muted gains

TOKYO: Asian stock markets mostly posted muted gains Monday as investors searched for fresh cues after a flat session on Wall Street and a pledge by world leaders to reduce budget deficits.

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Asian stock markets post muted gains

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