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
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Search
Search:
Crude prices tumble despite record OPEC cuts
By GEORGE JAHN,Associated Press Writer AP - 49 minutes ago
ORAN, Algeria - Here's how bad things are for OPEC these days: It announced its largest-ever production cut Wednesday and oil prices promptly slumped to $40 a barrel, the lowest level in more than four years.
Ministers of the 13-nation oil cartel were trying to shock moribund markets into life by slashing output 2.2 million barrels a day, more than double two recent production cuts. "I hope we surprised you," said OPEC President Chakib Khelil when asked whether the move would send prices upward.
Instead the markets yawned and there appeared to be more good news for consumers _ at least for the short term. Although declining gasoline prices have begun to edge up after falling from an average of $4.11 a gallon in July to a low of $1.65 on Friday, analysts believe oil's decline could send them even lower.
Benchmark crude prices tumbled to $39.88 per barrel Wednesday, levels not seen since July 2004 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In just five months, crude has given up all the price gains made over the past four years amid an oil glut and the spreading recession.
Gasoline prices have been plunging right behind crude, providing a bit of economic cover for almost everyone. Yet crude has fallen so far, so fast, there is growing alarm that consumers are being set up for a price shock.
OPEC's latest cut is likely to curtail, at least somewhat, the ongoing decline in gasoline and heating oil prices, said Peter Beutel, an oil analyst at Cameron Hanover.
What OPEC is trying to do, Beutel said, is "slowly dry up a pool of available crude oil and, ultimately, it will mean higher prices."
By Memorial Day, he said, gasoline could be anywhere from 50 cents to $1 a gallon higher than current levels.
OPEC was unable to tamp down soaring oil prices over the summer, which hit a record near $150 a barrel in July, and it has been unable to stop crude on the way down. The problem confronting OPEC is that demand rather than supply has been ruling the market.
The price of oil is closely tied with the buying habits of Americans, which are now hunkering down for the worst recession in at least a generation.
The Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. said Wednesday it will cut 1,300 jobs and close a plant in Georgia.
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. is reducing its salaried work force by as much as 10 percent. The Atlanta-based company slashed its fourth-quarter and full-year profit guidance Wednesday.
In Detroit, General Motors Corp. put the brakes on construction of an engine factory trying to hold on to the cash that it has left.
At the same time, consumers had been changing their traveling habits in the wake of higher fuel prices and environmental concerns. The government reported last week that between November 2007 and October, Americans drove 100 billion fewer miles.
Whether OPEC will be effective in limiting supply, remains to be seen. The cartel has had difficulty in the past addressing overproduction, with members regularly ignoring quotas. That makes investors skeptical about any pledge by the group to honor their commitments.
Khelil, asked whether the latest cut would be enacted, said: "I can tell you it's going to be implemented and implemented very well, because we don't have any other choice."
If past and present commitments are honored by the 11 members under production quotas, OPEC, which produces around 40 percent of the world's oil, would sell less than 25 million barrels a day.
But the cuts are failing to catch up to market realities. Earlier this week, OPEC cut its own demand forecast by about a million barrels a day.
OPEC warned falling prices could jeopardize crude supply as investments are reined in.
There were hopes that Russia would ally itself closer with OPEC, but its announcement that it would cut production appears largely symbolic.
Russian Deputy Premier Igor Sechin and Azeri Energy Minister Natik Aliev announced cutbacks of a total of more than 600,000 barrels a day.
But with Russian production falling, due in part to lagging investment, it was unclear whether some of the cuts enacted or proposed were simply a way of packaging Moscow's inability to keep up present output levels.
A member of the Russian delegation, who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said joining OPEC was not in his country's best interest.
Russian membership in OPEC would give the organization more leverage, with control of 50 percent of the world's crude.
Still, individual producers are already pulling crude off the market. There is oil being stored in supertankers at sea to avoid bringing it to market.
"You've got a commodity that people are buying less of because they can't afford to buy more," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. "People are fearful. They have a lack of confidence in the economy. They're closing their factories."
As dire as the current economic atmosphere is, the global economy will rebound eventually and supply problems remain the same: oil is getting harder to find every year.
It is not a matter of if oil prices will rocket again, it is a matter of when.
"The guy on the street should not be seduced by what is happening right now and should be thinking about putting money away for a rainy day," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. "When this economy rebounds, everyone is going to be talking about the mythical 'they,' ... the ones responsible for uncomfortably high energy prices."
____
Associated Press writers Angela Charlton, Alfred de Montesquiou and Adam Schreck in Oran contributed to this report.
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
Crude prices tumble despite record OPEC cutsAP - 49 minutes ago
Venezuela to cut oil output by 189,000 barrelsAP - 1 hour 32 minutes ago
Oil tumbles below $40 for first time since 2004AP - Thursday, December 18
Meltdown 101: Why OPEC moves aren't hitting pricesAP - Thursday, December 18
Related Articles: Business
StanChart says rights issue 96.95 pct subscribedReuters - 26 minutes ago
Court refuses to oust Illinois governorReuters - 28 minutes ago
Japan Hot Stocks-Honda, Panasonic, SanyoReuters - 32 minutes ago
S.Korea c.bank to lend banks $4 bln via Fed lineReuters - 32 minutes ago
Argentine Senate approves takeover of airlineAP - 35 minutes ago
Related Full Coverage
oil price hike
oil price hike
All Full Coverage
Most Popular – Business
Viewed
'Dark energy' expands, contracts universe: researchers
Bush laughs off Iraq flying shoes drama
Actress Jennifer Aniston appears naked in GQ magazine
Fed cuts rate to virtually zero, will expand stimulus moves
OPEC agrees to record cut in oil output: Saudi minister
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular