|
|
|
|
|
Oil price hits record high in New York The price of crude oil topped 74.0 dollars per barrel in New York for the first time Friday, on concerns over tight gasoline supplies in the United States and the Iran nuclear crisis. New York light sweet crude hit a historic peak of 74.45 dollars per barrel, a day after Brent crude had climbed to a record high 74.22 dollars in London on Thursday. On Friday at about 1615 GMT, New York's new main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, stood at 74.30 dollars per barrel in pit trading, a rise of 61 cents on Thursday's close. The price of Brent North Sea crude for June delivery gained 58 cents to 73.76 dollars per barrel in electronic deals. Oil prices are about 80.0 percent higher than in January 2005 and more than three times the level of four years ago, having been fuelled also by strong demand from China and India, whose economies are booming. Adjusted for inflation, current oil prices remain below levels reached after the 1979 Iranian revolution. According to Barclays Capital, in November 1979 crude prices surged to a high of 88.72 dollars per barrel in today's money. Mike Fitzpatrick at Fimat USA said trading this week has been "somewhat frenetic as speculative interests tied on to the fear of 'extreme' US gasoline supply tightness this summer". The US Department of Energy had said Wednesday that US gasoline, or motor fuel, inventories fell by 5.4 million barrels last week, twice analysts' forecasts. "Nothing's changed: the fundamental situation is tight and gasoline supply in the US is problematic," said Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish. The fall in supplies comes ahead of the US summer driving season, beginning in May, when American drivers take to the roads on vacation, pushing up demand for gasoline. Crude futures are meanwhile hitting fresh record highs owing to the possibility of a US-Iran conflict over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. The market fears that the United States might launch strikes at uranium facilities in Iran, which is the world's fourth-biggest crude producer. Any action against Iran -- the second biggest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after kingpin Saudi Arabia -- could disrupt the country's exports. Washington accuses Iran of working secretly to build nuclear weapons under cover of a nuclear energy programme. Iran, which exports some 2.7 million barrels of crude per day, denies the charge and says its programme is strictly for producing nuclear energy. Traders are also concerned that some 20.0 percent of Nigerian crude output remains offline following recent rebel attacks on the country's energy installations in the Niger Delta. Nigeria is Africa's biggest crude producer. "There is a high probability of further disruptions in Nigeria as we haven't seen the end of the attacks," said Tony Nunan, an energy risk manager for Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo. ---------------------------------------------------
Prison Planet.tv: The Premier Multimedia Subscription Package: Download and Share the Truth! Please help our fight against the New World Order by giving a donation. As bandwidth costs increase, the only way we can stay online and expand is with your support. Please consider giving a monthly or one-off donation for whatever you can afford. You can pay securely by either credit card or Paypal. Click here to donate. |
