Crude Futures Fall Below $67 US a Barrel on Slight Profit-Taking
Crude oil prices retreated Friday as traders took profits following continuous gains over the last three sessions due to strong demand for fuel and falling U.S. gasoline inventories.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 26 cents to $66.89 US a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange midmorning in Singapore. The contract on Thursday gained 70 cents to settle at $67.15 a barrel - a two-month high.
May Brent crude futures on London's ICE Futures exchange were up 11 cents at $66.57 a barrel.
Gasoline futures lost 3.32 cents to $1.9625 a gallon, while heating oil futures fell 1.03 cent to $1.8740 a gallon. Natural gas prices declined 14.2 cents to $7.345 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Analysts said concerns over falling U.S. gasoline stocks would continue to keep a firm floor under prices.
"Oil prices have been moving up so quickly in the past few days, so traders are just taking a slight profit now ahead of the weekend," said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo. "But gasoline demand is strong and inventories have gone down, so I think prices will keep moving strongly up."
Gasoline futures on Thursday jumped more than 4 cents a gallon on top of a gain of nearly 7 cents in the previous session after midweek data showed U.S. gasoline stocks fell by a surprisingly large draw of 5.4 million barrels last week, their biggest weekly draw since August 2003.
After climbing to their highest level in seven years last month, U.S. gasoline stocks have fallen nearly 10 million barrels in just the past four weeks, a trend analysts expect to continue for several more weeks as refiners undergo heavy seasonal maintenance work.
Prices also were supported by persistent supply disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico and Nigeria, and a UN standoff with Iran over its nuclear program.
On Thursday, top officials of the five permanent UN Security Council countries plus Germany urged Tehran to freeze uranium enrichment, but a senior Iranian envoy defiantly rejected the call, saying his country's activities were "not reversible."
Iran, the No. 2 oil producer in OPEC, has been referred to the UN Security Council over fears it may want to misuse its nuclear program to make weapons.
In the Gulf of Mexico, oil output is still down by 343,000 barrels per day because of damage that occurred during last summer's hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That is roughly 23 per cent below pre-storm output levels.
Nigerian oil output also remains a concern. Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the largest foreign oil company operating in the country, has shut in nearly half of its Nigerian production and says it won't resume operations until the country is safe enough for its workers. Some 550,000 barrels per day of Nigerian production has been shut in, analysts said.
OttawaCitizen
Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 26 cents to $66.89 US a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange midmorning in Singapore. The contract on Thursday gained 70 cents to settle at $67.15 a barrel - a two-month high.
May Brent crude futures on London's ICE Futures exchange were up 11 cents at $66.57 a barrel.
Gasoline futures lost 3.32 cents to $1.9625 a gallon, while heating oil futures fell 1.03 cent to $1.8740 a gallon. Natural gas prices declined 14.2 cents to $7.345 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Analysts said concerns over falling U.S. gasoline stocks would continue to keep a firm floor under prices.
"Oil prices have been moving up so quickly in the past few days, so traders are just taking a slight profit now ahead of the weekend," said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo. "But gasoline demand is strong and inventories have gone down, so I think prices will keep moving strongly up."
Gasoline futures on Thursday jumped more than 4 cents a gallon on top of a gain of nearly 7 cents in the previous session after midweek data showed U.S. gasoline stocks fell by a surprisingly large draw of 5.4 million barrels last week, their biggest weekly draw since August 2003.
After climbing to their highest level in seven years last month, U.S. gasoline stocks have fallen nearly 10 million barrels in just the past four weeks, a trend analysts expect to continue for several more weeks as refiners undergo heavy seasonal maintenance work.
Prices also were supported by persistent supply disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico and Nigeria, and a UN standoff with Iran over its nuclear program.
On Thursday, top officials of the five permanent UN Security Council countries plus Germany urged Tehran to freeze uranium enrichment, but a senior Iranian envoy defiantly rejected the call, saying his country's activities were "not reversible."
Iran, the No. 2 oil producer in OPEC, has been referred to the UN Security Council over fears it may want to misuse its nuclear program to make weapons.
In the Gulf of Mexico, oil output is still down by 343,000 barrels per day because of damage that occurred during last summer's hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That is roughly 23 per cent below pre-storm output levels.
Nigerian oil output also remains a concern. Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the largest foreign oil company operating in the country, has shut in nearly half of its Nigerian production and says it won't resume operations until the country is safe enough for its workers. Some 550,000 barrels per day of Nigerian production has been shut in, analysts said.
OttawaCitizen
posted by Ottawa Gas Prices | 11:50 PM
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