Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Oil Prices Steady Near $70 a Barrel | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page

LONDON, AP -Crude oil futures crept back above $70 a barrel after sinking more than $4 a barrel during the previous two sessions because U.S. government data showed an increase in gasoline supplies.

Prudential Financial broker Aaron Kildow said the pre-weekend buying was in response to the sharp selloff earlier in the week, though he predicted prices would drift lower again next week.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 25 cents to settle at $70.19 a barrel. The contract had fallen $2.34 Thursday, and $2.33 Wednesday.

Gasoline futures, meanwhile, gained 4.6 cents to close at $2.0406 per gallon. Kildow said thin volume exaggerated the increase in gasoline futures.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Department released a weekly report showing a supply rise as refineries boost output and demand flattens.

Many analysts believe the government data point to a consumer response to U.S. pump prices that exceed $3 a gallon in many parts of the country.

While Nymex oil futures have fallen more than $5 from their intraday peak of $75.35 reached April 21, prices remain roughly 40 percent higher than a year ago and analysts do not expect them to free-fall anytime soon given the high level of geopolitical tensions.

The most pressing source of anxiety in the market stems from the possibility that Iran, a key oil exporter, could cut supplies because of international pressure to modify its nuclear program.

Iran’s state-run television reported Friday that the oil ministry took a step toward establishing an oil trading market denominated in euros, rather than the dollar, by granting a license for the bourse. Trading on oil markets such as New York and London is conducted in dollars.

It wasn’t clear who would trade on an Iranian market. Iranian television did not mention trading firms or governments willing to market or purchase products on the bourse, nor did it say when it would open for business.

Iranian legislators earlier this year urged the government to set up the market to reduce the United States’ influence over the Islamic republic’s economy.

Besides tension over Iran, unrest in Nigeria, violence in Iraq and rising resource nationalism in South America have added to oil market worries.

Some 500,000 barrels per day of Nigerian production, most of it operated by Royal Dutch Shell PLC, remains off-line because of violence there, and more than 300,000 barrels per day remains shut down in the Gulf of Mexico since Hurricane Katrina battered offshore platforms in August.

Strong global demand and a limited supply cushion magnify the significance of these events, while a surge of investors betting on oil and other commodities has also lifted prices.

June Brent on London’s ICE Futures exchange gained 66 cents to close at $70.95 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil prices advanced 1.84 cent to settle at $1.953 a gallon and natural gas futures finished 13.1 cents lower at $6.775 per 1,000 cubic feet.