|
|
  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oil soars as U.S. supplies fall
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Oil prices rose on Thursday amid signs that a month-long strike in Venezuela was starting to cut into supplies to the United States, the world's biggest oil customer. The American Petroleum Institute said U.S. crude inventories fell more than 3 percent last week to near 26-year lows with the Venezuelan strike -- called by opponents of embattled President Hugo Chavez -- reducing oil production to a trickle. Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and supplies the U.S. with about 15 percent of its energy requirements. Fears of war with Iraq could further disrupt oil shipments from the Gulf, where most of the world's oil is produced, also added upward pressure on oil prices. (Full story) "I expect the bulls to take heart from the start of a new trading year being ushered in by a large inventory drop against the current geopolitical backdrop," independent oil analyst Simon Games-Thomas said in a daily note. Brent crude for February delivery, the benchmark futures contract on the International Petroleum Exchange in London, was up 64 cents to $29.30 in late trading on Thursday. Oil markets in London and New York were closed on Wednesday for the New Year holiday. The recovery in crude prices helped lift European markets on Thursday, with stocks in oil and gas companies benefitting from the tightening of supplies. (Full story) "High oil prices don't help economic recovery and it's clearly not what the world needs now," John Hirjee, senior energy analyst at Deutsche Bank, told Reuters.
Crude spiked on Monday but retreated significantly in the following session after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which controls two-thirds of world crude exports, said on Tuesday it would raise production by at least 500,000 barrels a day unless oil prices drop sharply in the next two weeks. Under an informal output agreement, OPEC hopes to keep the price in a range of $22 to $28 a barrel by increasing supply if prices exceed the upper end of the band for 20 consecutive trading days. The strike in Venezuela has led to mile-long gas lines in the capital of Caracas and other cities. (Full story). Venezuela has begun importing gasoline in an effort to break an oil workers' strike. The first shipment arrived on Saturday from neighbouring Brazil. The move has enraged Chavez's opponents, who accused Brazil of interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs by helping the leftist leader break the strike.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
