Crude Futures Fall to Just Above $66 US a Barrel on Profit-Taking
Oil prices dipped Tuesday as traders continued to pocket gains after a recent rally, although analysts said that concerns about petroleum supply out of Iran and Nigeria kept a high floor under prices.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 38 cents to $66.36 US a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract on Monday settled 11 cents higher at $66.74 a barrel.
May Brent at London's ICE Futures exchange fell 24 cents to $66.60 a barrel.
Gasoline futures fell 0.82 cent to $1.8550 a gallon, while heating oil prices dipped 0.72 cent to $1.8550 a gallon. Natural gas lost 6.4 cents to $7.180 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Last week, prices made solid gains on supply concerns linked to U.S. gasoline inventories, which have been falling ahead of the U.S. summer driving season, when demand peaks.
"The profit taking is still continuing today," said Ken Hasegawa of brokerage Himarawi CX in Tokyo, who predicted the front-month crude contract would stay within the $66.00-US$66.80 a barrel range.
The uncertain outlook for supplies out of Iran and Nigeria was bolstering oil prices, analysts said.
"With less than 2.0 million barrels of spare production capacity, even with higher than average supply of oil, the margin of error in the world oil market has never been thinner," said Phil Flynn, an Alaron Trading Corp. analyst, in a research note.
"And with worries about possible supply disruptions in Iran, Nigeria and Venezuela and another hurricane season ahead of us, traders are betting that it's likely something is going to go wrong."
The UN Security Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to demand that Iran suspend nuclear enrichment but Iran has remained defiant, saying enrichment is "irreversible." The standoff has ratcheted up tensions over Iran's nuclear program.
Iran said Monday it successfully tested its second new torpedo in as many days, the latest weapon to be unveiled during war games in the Gulf that the military said are aimed at preparing the country's defences against the United States.
Around 27 per cent of Nigeria's output has been knocked out by ethnic rebel attacks in the Niger Delta region. Militants have pledged more attacks to get a bigger cut for southerners of the oil revenues held by the federal government. The country usually produces 2.4 million barrels a day.
OttawaCitizen
Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 38 cents to $66.36 US a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract on Monday settled 11 cents higher at $66.74 a barrel.
May Brent at London's ICE Futures exchange fell 24 cents to $66.60 a barrel.
Gasoline futures fell 0.82 cent to $1.8550 a gallon, while heating oil prices dipped 0.72 cent to $1.8550 a gallon. Natural gas lost 6.4 cents to $7.180 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Last week, prices made solid gains on supply concerns linked to U.S. gasoline inventories, which have been falling ahead of the U.S. summer driving season, when demand peaks.
"The profit taking is still continuing today," said Ken Hasegawa of brokerage Himarawi CX in Tokyo, who predicted the front-month crude contract would stay within the $66.00-US$66.80 a barrel range.
The uncertain outlook for supplies out of Iran and Nigeria was bolstering oil prices, analysts said.
"With less than 2.0 million barrels of spare production capacity, even with higher than average supply of oil, the margin of error in the world oil market has never been thinner," said Phil Flynn, an Alaron Trading Corp. analyst, in a research note.
"And with worries about possible supply disruptions in Iran, Nigeria and Venezuela and another hurricane season ahead of us, traders are betting that it's likely something is going to go wrong."
The UN Security Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to demand that Iran suspend nuclear enrichment but Iran has remained defiant, saying enrichment is "irreversible." The standoff has ratcheted up tensions over Iran's nuclear program.
Iran said Monday it successfully tested its second new torpedo in as many days, the latest weapon to be unveiled during war games in the Gulf that the military said are aimed at preparing the country's defences against the United States.
Around 27 per cent of Nigeria's output has been knocked out by ethnic rebel attacks in the Niger Delta region. Militants have pledged more attacks to get a bigger cut for southerners of the oil revenues held by the federal government. The country usually produces 2.4 million barrels a day.
OttawaCitizen
posted by Ottawa Gas Prices | 3:25 PM
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