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Oil settles above US$111 per barrel
Source: Agencies |
April 21, 2011, Thursday
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OIL settled above US$111 per barrel yesterday as the dollar weakened and the government reported an unexpected drop in US crude supplies.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil for June delivery gained US$3.17 to settle at US$111.45 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil has increased 20 percent since the beginning of the year as investors anticipated rising global demand and unrest in North Africa and the Middle East threatened oil fields and shipping lanes vital to world supply.
In London, Brent crude rose US$2.52 to settle at US$123.85 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
The surge in oil had cooled recently as industry groups monitored the effect of higher prices on petroleum demand and the global economy. The International Energy Agency, OPEC and others have said that they see signs that consumers are using less fuel as prices rise. In the US, retail surveys by MasterCard SpendingPulse indicate that motorists have cut back on gasoline purchases for the past seven weeks.
Oil rose yesterday as the dollar lost ground to the euro, the British pound and other major currencies. The dollar has been sliding since Standard & Poor's downgraded its outlook for US debt earlier this week. Oil, which is priced in dollars, tends to rise as the dollar falls. That makes crude contracts cheaper for investors holding foreign currency.
The Energy Information Administration reported that US oil supplies unexpectedly shrank by 2.3 million barrels last week. Analysts expected an increase of 1.6 million barrels.
At least some of the decline occurred because refineries used more crude to produce gasoline and other products, while crude imports declined.
"The decline in imports suggests refiners were unwilling to bring in higher-priced foreign barrels," said Platts senior oil analyst Linda Rafield.
EIA also reported that gasoline supplies fell by 1.6 million barrels last week. Some analysts have pointed to falling supplies as a sign that US demand is holding steady. Yet Andrew Lipow, President of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston, said the drop in gasoline supplies may have more to do with many refineries along the East Coast being on hold for routine maintenance and other issues.
EIA data show that gasoline demand has dropped for the past three weeks, when compared with levels from a year ago.
Gasoline pump prices keep rising nevertheless. The national average increased slightly on yesterday to US$3.837 per gallon (US$1.01 a liter), according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular is 97.8 cents higher than a year ago.
Fred Rozell, the retail pricing director at OPIS, said pump prices should increase a little more this summer as refineries switch to summer gasoline blends that are more expensive to produce. Summer blends already account for roughly 80 percent of the gasoline sold, Rozell said. The rest will be at the pumps in the next several weeks.
In other Nymex trading for May contracts, heating oil added 6.29 cents to settle at US$3.2214 per gallon and gasoline futures increased 4.42 cents to settle at US$3.2773 per gallon. Natural gas gained 4.8 cents to settle at US$4.310 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil for June delivery gained US$3.17 to settle at US$111.45 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil has increased 20 percent since the beginning of the year as investors anticipated rising global demand and unrest in North Africa and the Middle East threatened oil fields and shipping lanes vital to world supply.
In London, Brent crude rose US$2.52 to settle at US$123.85 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
The surge in oil had cooled recently as industry groups monitored the effect of higher prices on petroleum demand and the global economy. The International Energy Agency, OPEC and others have said that they see signs that consumers are using less fuel as prices rise. In the US, retail surveys by MasterCard SpendingPulse indicate that motorists have cut back on gasoline purchases for the past seven weeks.
Oil rose yesterday as the dollar lost ground to the euro, the British pound and other major currencies. The dollar has been sliding since Standard & Poor's downgraded its outlook for US debt earlier this week. Oil, which is priced in dollars, tends to rise as the dollar falls. That makes crude contracts cheaper for investors holding foreign currency.
The Energy Information Administration reported that US oil supplies unexpectedly shrank by 2.3 million barrels last week. Analysts expected an increase of 1.6 million barrels.
At least some of the decline occurred because refineries used more crude to produce gasoline and other products, while crude imports declined.
"The decline in imports suggests refiners were unwilling to bring in higher-priced foreign barrels," said Platts senior oil analyst Linda Rafield.
EIA also reported that gasoline supplies fell by 1.6 million barrels last week. Some analysts have pointed to falling supplies as a sign that US demand is holding steady. Yet Andrew Lipow, President of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston, said the drop in gasoline supplies may have more to do with many refineries along the East Coast being on hold for routine maintenance and other issues.
EIA data show that gasoline demand has dropped for the past three weeks, when compared with levels from a year ago.
Gasoline pump prices keep rising nevertheless. The national average increased slightly on yesterday to US$3.837 per gallon (US$1.01 a liter), according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular is 97.8 cents higher than a year ago.
Fred Rozell, the retail pricing director at OPIS, said pump prices should increase a little more this summer as refineries switch to summer gasoline blends that are more expensive to produce. Summer blends already account for roughly 80 percent of the gasoline sold, Rozell said. The rest will be at the pumps in the next several weeks.
In other Nymex trading for May contracts, heating oil added 6.29 cents to settle at US$3.2214 per gallon and gasoline futures increased 4.42 cents to settle at US$3.2773 per gallon. Natural gas gained 4.8 cents to settle at US$4.310 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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