Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Africa
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Search
Search:
New York oil price slumps below $34 a barrel
AFP - Saturday, December 20
LONDON (AFP) - - The price of New York oil sank under 34 dollars per barrel on Friday for the first time for more than four and a half years, as weak global demand overshadowed a record OPEC output cut, traders said.
The fresh falls prompted OPEC President Chakib Khelil to stress that the cartel would continue cutting output until prices stabilise.
New York's light sweet crude for delivery in January dived as low as 33.44 dollars a barrel, which was the lowest point since April 2, 2004.
The price of New York oil has plunged by about 77 percent since striking a record high above 147 dollars in July as the market was slammed by concerns that a sharp global economic slowdown will slash energy demand.
The January contract, which was also driven lower owing to its expiry on Friday, later pulled back to 34.80, down 1.42 dollars from the close on Thursday.
New York crude for February delivery, which becomes the main contract on Monday, stood at 41.81, up 14 cents.
London's Brent North Sea oil for February delivery rose 81 cents to 44.17 dollars a barrel, after earlier dipping as low as 43.03.
"Crude fell as concerns over a global economic slowdown weighed on sentiment," said Sucden analyst Nimit Khamar.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which produces about 40 percent of the world's crude, agreed Wednesday to cut output by 2.2 million barrels a day in a bid to shore up the market and protect its members' revenues.
"We will continue this reduction until the price will stabilise," Khelil told reporters in London on Friday at a key gathering of oil producing and consuming nations.
Khelil, who is also Algeria's energy minister, said prices could have gone even lower if OPEC had not already made cuts in September and October.
"I think the question that people don't ask is where would the price be today if we did not take a decision in September of reducing 500,000 (bpd), and if we did not make the decision in October to reduce by 1.5 (million bpd)," he said.
"The prices today would have been very very low, so I think we did have an impact although we did not succeed in stabilising," he added.
And he added: "We feel very strongly that what happened in 2008 and what's happening now is due in great part to the speculation."
This week's OPEC's output reduction, agreed at a ministerial meeting in Oran, Algeria, has failed to prevent oil diving to multi-year lows on stubborn demand fears.
Many traders have also questioned whether all members of the 13-nation OPEC cartel would fully enforce the reduction.
"The global recession continues to sap demand," said BetOnMarkets analyst David Evans.
"Even after OPEC cut production by more then two million barrels, oil prices have fallen below the 40 dollar per barrel level. Prices are likely to stabilise between the 35 and 40 dollar levels."
In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that oil price volatility was "in no-one's interest."
Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Nuaimi again indicated he thought 75 dollars per barrel would be "fair and reasonable," adding that anything lower could lead to more, not less, instability.
"When oil is priced lower, such as it is now, there will be less investment and less future supply," he said at the London gathering.
"Eventually, this scenario is followed by a surge in prices, as supplies will not be sufficient to meet growth in consumption levels."
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Oil Price Hike
Oil prices mixed; New York contract expires below 34 dollarsAFP - Saturday, December 20
New York oil price slumps below $34 a barrelAFP - Saturday, December 20
Oil price just above 36 dollars, lowest in four yearsAFP - Friday, December 19
GLOBAL MARKETS-Oil and bond yields fall, US dollar reboundsReuters - Friday, December 19
Related Articles: World
Remains don't reveal how Caylee Anthony diedAP - 41 minutes ago
Reaction to Bush's decision on auto bailoutAP - 49 minutes ago
Guests for the Sunday TV news showsAP - 53 minutes ago
Child porn cartoon conviction upheld in Va.AP - 1 hour 1 minute ago
Ind. Planned Parenthood counselor in video resignsAP - 1 hour 2 minutes ago
Related Full Coverage
oil price hike
oil price hike
All Full Coverage
Most Popular – World
Viewed
Global economy seen sinking into 'severe' 2009 recession: report
Oil prices mixed; New York contract expires below 34 dollars
Actress Jennifer Aniston appears naked in GQ magazine
Ageing L'Oreal heiress defends billion-dollar giveaway
'Orderly' bankruptcy mulled for US carmakers
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular