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:
Oil above $48 as investors eye Gaza conflict, OPEC
By ALEX KENNEDY,Associated Press Writer AP - 2 hours 46 minutes ago
SINGAPORE - Oil prices remained above $48 a barrel Tuesday in Asia amid signs OPEC is implementing announced production cuts and as Israel's ground offensive in Gaza kept tensions high in the oil-rich Middle East.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery fell 63 cents to $48.18 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract rose overnight $2.47 to settle at $48.81.
Israeli forces seized control of high-rise buildings and attacked smuggling tunnels in the tenth day of fighting with Hamas in Gaza on Monday. The offensive has killed at least 500 people, about 25 percent of whom were civilians, a U.N. official said Monday.
The U.N. Security Council met with Arab delegates in New York Monday, urging members to adopt a resolution calling for an immediate end to the Israeli attacks and a permanent cease-fire. At the same time, diplomats and European leaders traveled the region in an effort to stop Israel's expanding ground and air offensive.
An Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander on Monday urged Islamic nations to use crude oil as a weapon to exert pressure on Western backers of Israel. However, key Persian Gulf producers like Saudi Arabia have so far not backed any measure to target specific consuming countries.
"Whenever Hamas and the Israelis are fighting, there's always a risk of things escalating," said Christoffer Moltke-Leth, head of sales trading for Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore. "Oil is sensitive to political issues, and the price could overshoot until we know if this conflict could affect supplies."
Prices have been bolstered by signs the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is implementing production cuts of 4 million barrels a day that the group has announced since October, Moltke-Leth said.
Iran's OPEC governor, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, said Monday that OPEC members decided to hold an extraordinary meeting in Kuwait in February to discuss oil prices.
"It's likely they are going to stick to the output cuts they've promised," Moltke-Leth said. "That will likely support oil in the short term and we could test $55 this month."
Oil prices have risen 43 percent since reaching a five-year low of $33.87 a barrel on Dec. 19 despite signs that a severe global economic slowdown is worsening.
U.S. auto sales plunged 36 percent in December, and President-elect Barack Obama said Monday the U.S. economy was "bad and getting worse."
"We know the data coming out in January is going to be really bad. Moltke-Leth said. "But the market has discounted that into expectations."
In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures fell 0.14 cent to $1.18 a gallon. Heating oil gained 0.51 cent to $1.58 a gallon while natural gas for February delivery jumped 6.8 cents to $6.14 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, February Brent crude fell 37 cents to $49.25 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
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 above $48 as investors eye Gaza conflict, OPECAP - 2 hours 46 minutes ago
Oman says to trim 2009 spending if sub-$45 oilReuters - Sunday, January 4
Oil ends 2008 with surge, but more than 100 dlrs below recordAFP - Thursday, January 1
Libya orders oil cuts of 270K bpdAP - Wednesday, December 31
Related Articles: Business
JFE wants iron ore prices to fall to 07/08 levelsReuters - 19 minutes ago
SNAPSHOT - Financial Crisis - 0715 GMTReuters - 26 minutes ago
Japan business lobby sees '09 dlr range of 95-105 yenReuters - 27 minutes ago
NEW ISSUE-IRFC invites bids for 7 bln rupees of bondsReuters - 27 minutes ago
Indian cash rates steady on surplus cash with banksReuters - 31 minutes ago
Related Full Coverage
oil price hike
oil price hike
All Full Coverage
Most Popular – Business
Viewed
Steve Jobs has "hormone imbalance," to stay on as Apple CEO
Jett Travolta died of 'seizure': Bahamas officials
Israeli army moves on Gaza City as war toll passes 510
Pink iguanas discovered on Galapagos Islands
Milky Way spins faster, has more mass than thought: astronomers
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular