Τρίτη 26 Απριλίου 2011

Oil Drops From 31-Month High as Saudi Arabia Signals Discomfort With Price

Crude retreated from a 31-month high in New York after Saudi Arabia’s national oil company indicated the kingdom isn’t comfortable with current prices.
Futures slid after Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Officer Khalid al-Falih said the world’s biggest crude exporter is concerned about the impact of prices on economic growth.
Oil also declined with other commodities amid speculation that the Federal Reserve may end its bond-buying program. A government report tomorrow may show crude supplies in the U.S. increased last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey
“Oil has come down after Saudi Arabia signaled it isn’t happy with current prices because it fears the impact on the global economy,” said Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “The downward trend is also in line with the fall in all commodities.”
Oil for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell as much as $1.16 to $111.12 a barrel. The contract was at $112.03 at 12:05 p.m. in London. Yesterday, it traded at $113.48, the highest since Sept. 22, 2008. Brent crude for June settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange was up 20 cents at $123.86 a barrel, reversing yesterday’s 0.3 percent decline.
The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 raw materials declined as much as 0.9 percent to 745.49, the biggest intraday loss since April 19. Copper slumped by the most in about seven weeks and gold slid for the first time in 10 days.

Economic Impact

Saudi Arabia is committed to maintaining 3 million to 4 million barrels a day of idle capacity, al-Falih said in Seoul.
“We are not comfortable with oil prices where they are today,” al-Falih said. “We’re concerned about the impact it could have on global economic growth.”
The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee begins a two-day policy meeting today. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is scheduled to speak to reporters tomorrow in his first press conference to follow immediately after a policy meeting.
“This will add some complexity to trading around the FOMC statement,” Olivier Jakob, managing director of Geneva-based consultant Petromatrix said in a report.
In Nigeria, voters will cast ballots in state governorship elections today amid sectarian tensions triggered in Africa’s top oil producer by the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan on April 16. Voting will take place in 26 of 36 states to elect legislatures and governors, with the number of states under the control of the ruling People’s Democratic Party likely to shrink. Nigeria is the fourth-biggest source of U.S. crude imports so far this year, according to the Energy Department.

Brent Premium

“Nigeria’s production of sweet crude oil is definitely an exponential price factor now that Libya’s sweet crude oil production is out,” Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at Stockholm-based SEB AB, said in a note. “With a governorship election today in Nigeria we see little downside in Brent crude today.”
Brent traded at a premium of $11.83 a barrel to New York futures settling in the same month. The difference has shrunk from $13.05 a week earlier after supplies fell at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for U.S. contracts.
Stockpiles at Cushing dropped 770,000 barrels to 41.1 million in the week ended April 15, according to the Energy Department. Crude stockpiles nationwide fell 2.32 million barrels to 357 million, the first drop since February.
U.S. crude inventories climbed 1.5 million barrels last week, the seventh time in eight weeks, according to the median estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News before a government report tomorrow. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute will publish its own data today.
U.S. gasoline supplies probably dropped 1 million barrels in the period ended April 21, the survey showed. Distillate fuel supplies, including diesel and heating oil, were estimated to have increased by 600,000 barrels.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sherry Su in London at lsu23@bloomberg.net; Ayesha Daya at adaya1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-25/crude-oil-extends-decline-after-reaching-31-month-high-as-equities-slide.html 

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