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
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Search
Search:
Oil prices start new year lower
AFP - 1 hour 18 minutes ago
SINGAPORE, Jan 2, 2009 (AFP) - Oil prices headed lower Friday on the first trading day of 2009, reversing a surge that came before the New Year's holiday.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, slid 2.03 dollars to 42.57 dollars a barrel in afternoon trade after surging 5.57 dollars to 44.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.
Markets were closed Thursday for the holiday.
Brent North Sea crude for February delivery was down 1.91 dollars to 43.68 dollars a barrel after surging 5.55 to 45.59 dollars in London Wednesday.
Prices eased because Asian traders thought "that the rally was overdone on Wednesday," said Dave Ernsberger, senior Asia editorial director of Platts, a global energy information provider.
He said prices were in a "stable range" and would remain there until US president-elect Barack Obama takes office on January 20, when his policies toward the US economy, key oil producer Iran, and the Israeli-Hamas conflict in the oil-rich Middle East would have an impact on prices.
Obama plans to spend up to 775 billion dollars on an economic stimulus package, his top aides said recently.
Oil prices soared in the first half of last year, reaching record highs above 147 dollars a barrel in July, before a sharp global economic downturn slashed world demand for energy and pulled prices sharply lower.
Wednesday's price rise came after the US Department of Energy's weekly stockpiles report showed an increase in crude reserves in the world's biggest energy consumer. The report appeared to disappoint some investors.
"Maybe (traders) were expecting a little bit more," said Andy Lipow at Lipow Oil Associates.
With demand curbed by recession in some of the world's biggest economies, prices risk slumping further this year, according to analysts.
"The relentless cadence of dismal economic news will probably keep energy prices on the defensive into 2009, until the scope of the new (US) administration's stimulus package can be assessed," said Mike Fitzpatrick at MF Global.
burs-str/it/dan
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: Asia Pacific
Acquittal appealed in Indonesian activists' murderAP - 15 minutes ago
Catholic paper fights Malaysia gov't language curbAP - 20 minutes ago
Thousands of Australian Muslims rally for peace in GazaAFP - 36 minutes ago
Australian researchers claim breakthrough on dengue feverAFP - 54 minutes ago
Australia 'unlikely' to accept Guantanamo detainees: govtAFP - 1 hour 1 minute ago
Most Popular – Asia Pacific
Viewed
Rare Bugatti untouched for 50 years could fetch millions: report
NASA describes final moments of Columbia tragedy
Hamas defiant as Israel rejects Gaza truce
Actress Jennifer Aniston appears naked in GQ magazine
Japanese tourist spends 3 months in Mexico City airport
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular