NEWS,16.02.2012.

Crude oil hits six-month high

Oil drilling rig 

Brent crude rose today for a fourth day in a row, topping $120 a barrel - a six-month high - on worries about supply from Iran and from the North Sea, where output was expected to dip next month. A reversal of the euros losses on the day against the dollar also bolstered crude oil gains on both sides of the Atlantic. The euro surged back after reports that euro zone central banks had agreed to exchange Greek bonds they hold for new bonds as part of a deal to help the debt-strapped country. This raised fresh hopes that Greece's a long-sought debt bailout would be agreed by next week. US crude erased an early $1 decline and rose to a six-week high as upbeat data on jobless claims and housing brightened the outlook for domestic energy demand. The US data also helped lift Brent. US gasoline futures rose to their highest level in 5-1/2 months, at $3.0514 a gallon, for front-month March RBOB , up 1.5 % on the day, adding support to crude. A lower-than-expected gasoline stock build for last week shown in government inventory data released on Wednesday helped boost gasoline futures.In London, ICE Brent April crude was up 97 cents at $119.90 a barrel. Brent hit a session high of $120.38, the highest since an intraday high of $120.40 on August 1.In euro terms, Brent prices were the highest since 2008.US March crude was up 57 cents at $102.37, having fallen earlier to $100.84. It hit a session high of $102.69, the highest since January 12's high of $102.98."Crude futures popped on the euro reversal to the upside against the dollar and the S&P 500 also rose," said Addison Armstrong, senior director of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.” US crude, though lagging Brent's gains, is having a good run, considering where it was just days ago and with a lot of fundamental headwinds against it," he added. The spread's widening followed US government data on Wednesday showing a 2 million-barrel increase in stockpiles last week at the US delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma. Supplies at the hub rose to the highest level since September and the gain was the biggest weekly rise since December 2009.Initial US claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to near a four-year low, suggesting the labour market recovery was gaining steam, and housing starts rose more than expected in January. Iran’s ambassador to Russia said plans to cut off supplies of Iranian crude to Europe would benefit only the Islamic republic, which in the past has been heavily dependent on imported fuel due to restricted refining capacity. In another front, Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, proposed an early resumption of long-stalled nuclear talks with world powers, according to a letter from Tehran to European Union policy chief Catherine Ashton.On Wednesday, oil prices jumped early after Iranian state television reported that the country was halting its crude exports to six European countries before the EU ban on Iranian crude takes effect in July. This was later denied by Iran's oil ministry, helping pare session gains. Crude oil output from the North Sea, home of the global Brent benchmark, is set to fall in March for a third month due to maintenance work and natural aging of oilfields there.Supply will average 2.18 million barrels per day in March, down 1.4 % from 2.12 million bpd the previous month, data compiled showed on Tuesday.

NEWS,24.01.2012

U.S. lauds EU for embargo on Iranian crude oil

Move could spur rise in gas prices

U.S. leaders praised the European Union’s embargo on Iranian oil Monday, even though it triggered a jump of more than $1 per barrel in global oil prices and signaled the potential for a rise in U.S. gasoline prices in the weeks ahead. Iranian officials called the embargo an act of “psychological warfare,” and lawmakers renewed threats to block the Persian Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s crude oil is transported. The EU’s move showed significant widening of international support for the U.S.-led effort to choke off the Iranian economy to pressure Iranian leaders to abandon a nuclear program that the Islamic republic claims is peaceful. Western nations and Israel fear Iran is trying to make an atomic weapon. By agreeing to the oil embargo, the EU’s 27 foreign ministers delivered “another strong step in the international effort to dramatically increase the pressure on Iran,” 

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said in a joint statement. With EU nations buying about 25 percent of the 2.5 million barrels exported by Iran daily, analysts say the embargo’s impact will be felt on both sides, especially among EU members already struggling under austerity measures tied to the Continent’s economic crisis. Iran remains the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the embargo’s ultimate impact on global oil prices remains to be seen. President Obama authorized new sanctions on Iran’s oil sector and the central bank when he signed the Defense Authorization Act on Dec. 31. However, implementation of those sanctions was delayed for six months to prevent a sudden increase in global oil prices. News of the EU’s move Monday sent the New York stock market price of crude oil to $99.58 per barrel, an increase of $1.25 from Friday. A joint statement issued by the leaders of the EU’s most powerful nations said that while “the door is open to Iran to engage in serious and meaningful negotiations,” Iranian leaders have “failed to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program.” Until Iran comes to the table, we will be united behind strong measures,” said the statement by British 

Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Geithner noted that the EU embargo bolsters the new U.S. sanctions with the goal of “targeting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran and by providing strong incentives to reduce Iran’s ability to earn revenue from its oil exports.” The stakes are high for such measures because a further jump in oil prices could threaten the EU’s delicate economic recovery.In the U.S.,average gasoline prices have hovered at $3.85 per gallon this month. Analysts say that gradual increases in the cost of crude take about a week to impact prices at the pump. The oil embargo’s overall impact on global crude prices may be more difficult to calculate.” At this point, there’s at least some short-term confidence that there’s an excess in the market to absorb any disruptions in Iranian supply, but there’s a lot of uncertainty and ultimately the key player will be China,” said Suzanne Maloney, a senior foreign policy fellow focused on Persian Gulf and Middle East energy policy at the Brookings Institution.