World oil prices rose on Friday as the hospitalization of Saudi King Fahd unsettled markets already skittish about demand at the start of the US summer driving season.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, climbed US$0.84 to US$51.85 per barrel in closing deals.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in July gained US$0.54 to US$50.70 per barrel.
PHOTO: AP
King Fahd's hospitalization left markets nervous about events in the world's largest oil producer, which has pledged to boost production to meet surging global demand.
"Prices rose rose on short covering ahead of the week-end but then came the news that King Fahd had been brought to a hospital," which accelerated the buying, said Fimat USA analyst John Kilduff.
If Fahd were to die over the weekend, that would likely boost prices because of the "uncertainty in the major oil producer in the Middle East," he added.
Seth Kleinman of PFC Energy said the news from Saudi Arabia had an impact but "we had a strong week" for oil prices as a disappointing report on US stockpiles prompted buyers to bid up prices.
"The fundamentals have changed a lot," he said.
Prices had closed more than a dollar higher on Wednesday when a US government survey showed a surprise drop in inventory levels of crude oil, which refineries turn into gasoline.
The US summer holiday driving season, which sees many Americans taking to the open roads in their vehicles, officially begins this weekend ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.
"Some of the gains seen this week have also been in preparation for the long weekend," Investec analyst Bruce Evers said.
The US Energy Department said Wednesday that US crude inventories fell 1.6 million barrels in the latest week, against market expectations for an increase.
But at 332.4 million barrels, stocks remained well above the upper end of the average range for this time of year.
The report also showed gasoline stockpiles rising 600,000 barrels to 215.4 million, in line with most forecasts.
"With the product inventories still bearish the market may struggle to break any higher unless we see some bullish fundamental news," analysts at the Sucden brokerage firm said.
"Crude stocks are still over 10 percent above year-ago levels and OPEC looks likely to continue almost flat-out crude production."
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is producing in excess of 30 million barrels per day, a figure that is close to 25-year high points.
Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo, said US gasoline stockpile levels were stable, allowing prices to ease below US$50 per barrel next week.
"I think there's a possibility of prices going down rather than going up," he said. "I don't think the gasoline market is tight, it's stable," he said, adding that US refineries were capable of meeting demand during the summer driving season.
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS