在线国产一区二区_成人黄色片在线观看_国产成人免费_日韩精品免费在线视频_亚洲精品美女久久_欧美一级免费在线观看

  Home>News Center>World
         
 

Oil price nears US$49 as Iraq violence flares
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-08-20 09:13

Oil prices struck a fresh record just under $49 a barrel on Thursday, spurred higher by renewed violence in Iraq and fresh evidence that strong demand growth in China and India has not been slowed by higher energy costs.

U.S. light crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped $1.48 to $48.75 a barrel, a record in the 21 years that oil futures have traded on NYMEX, before the September crude contract settled at $48.70, up $1.43 for the day.

London Brent crude gained $1.30 to settle at $44.33 a barrel.

U.S. crude oil prices have set record peaks in all but one of the past 15 trading sessions and are up about $11 a barrel, or 29 percent, since the end of June.

Rising world oil demand has left little slack in the system to cope with outages in Iraq where Shi'ite militia have lived up to threats they will target oil infrastructure if U.S. forces do not leave the holy city of Najaf.

Saboteurs on Thursday set fire to the headquarters of the South Oil Co. in Iraq's port city of Basra, witnesses said.

Fierce fighting raged in Najaf on Thursday after rebel Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr defied an Iraqi government threat to attack his stronghold in a holy shrine and rejected demands that he end his uprising.

Iraq's main southern pipeline from the Basra oilfields has been shut since the last sabotage attack on Aug. 9, curbing export flows to about a million barrels daily, half the normal rates, through a secondary line.

An official at South Oil Co.'s headquarters in Basra said oil exports of 1 million barrels per day were still flowing through the southern terminals despite the attack on its offices.

RISING DEMAND IN CHINA AND INDIA

Demand growth in emerging economies China and India has shaken up the oil market this year, intensifying competition for supply with established petroleum-consuming giants such as the United States.

"The market is currently slightly higher than it should be, but I do expect to see $50 a barrel on NYMEX crude oil by the fourth quarter," said Benoit de Vitry, global head of commodities for Barclays Capital.

China's refineries have processed 17.2 percent more crude so far this year than in 2003, the country's State Statistical Bureau said on Thursday. Crude imports to the end of July have soared nearly 40 percent from last year.

India's biggest refiner, state-run Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., or IOC, said it expected India's crude oil imports to rise by 11 percent in 2004/05 as demand rises by nearly 4 percent.

"Refineries are running flat out," IOC Chairman M.S. Ramachandran said.

U.S. APPETITE SOPS UP EXTRA IMPORTS

In the United States, which guzzles around a quarter of the world's oil, demand so far this year is up 3.4 percent, stopping a buildup in inventories much as rising consumption absorbs extra imports from OPEC producers, such as Saudi Arabia.

U.S. government data on Wednesday showed commercial crude oil supplies had fallen 1.3 million barrels to 293 million barrels last week, the third straight week of declines.

Nerves were little calmed by OPEC assurances on Wednesday that it had raised output in July to a level that should permit a substantial buildup in world oil stocks in the fourth quarter.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is pumping oil at its highest level since 1979. A report from OPEC headquarters estimated it could raise production to 30.5 million barrels per day (bpd) next month.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Crop trade deficit recorded for 1st time

 

   
 

Chen uses stopover to undermine relations

 

   
 

Gymnastics gold evens the US with China

 

   
 

Senior officials face stiff graft checks

 

   
 

FDI grows by a large margin in July

 

   
 

Massacre proof sent to Nanjing

 

   
  Analysis: Doctors a part of Iraq abuse
   
  Kerry: Bush lets groups do 'dirty work'
   
  Google up in market debut after bumpy IPO
   
  Mortar rounds hit US embassy in Baghdad
   
  Fierce fighting in Iraq's Najaf, Sadr defiant
   
  Sharon's party rebels, imperils Gaza pullout plan
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  American "democracy" under the microscope...  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 欧美日韩一区二区三区 | 欧产日产国产69 | 欧美在线视频免费 | 精品国产一区二区在线观看 | 久久精品网址 | 一区二区三区四区国产 | www.操| 久久综合99 | 亚洲一级特黄 | 亚洲色欧美 | 91视频专区 | 成年人在线播放 | 久久久久久免费 | www在线播放| 国产乱码精品一区二区三 | 黄色大片在线 | 午夜婷婷 | 日韩一区二区在线观看视频 | 青青草一区二区 | 欧美国产精品 | 日韩精品久久久久久免费 | 在线亚洲欧美 | 欧美日韩精品一区 | 午夜看片| 久久神马 | 亚洲男人av | 99在线播放 | 日韩欧美国产一区二区三区 | 中文字幕国产 | 国产精品久久免费 | 国产亚洲欧洲 | 色综合天天| 国产一区欧美 | 精品国产视频 | 精品一区二区三区免费毛片 | 美女视频一区二区 | 羞羞的网站 | 日产精品久久久一区二区 | 日本美女毛茸茸 | 黄色大片免费在线观看 | 国产精品第二页 |