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.
Cairo’s new monorail slices across the city skyline, running above the familiar chaos of blaring horns and aging buses’ exhaust fumes that mark rush hour below. The US$4.5 billion monorail, opened this month, is among Egypt’s most prominent new transport projects, part of a debt-funded infrastructure drive criticized for sapping state finances while bringing limited benefits to most of the country’s 109 million people. “It feels like you’re in a different country,” said Ramy Sayed, a restaurant manager, aboard a driverless Innovia 300 train. “No noise, no traffic, we’re not used to this.” The eastern line runs 56km from the bustling middle-class
Taiwanese firms have increased investment in the Philippines in recent years as Manila’s ties with Washington deepen and global supply chains continue to shift away from China, an expert at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The Philippines had not been among Taiwanese investors’ top choices in Southeast Asia, CIER Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center director Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈) said at a seminar in Taipei. However, Taiwan’s investment in the country has grown significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching US $257 million last year, a high in recent years, she said. Although Taiwan’s total investment in the Philippines still lags
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be
Intel Corp regards Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) as a longstanding partner, as the US chipmaker would continue outsourcing production of advanced chips to TSMC, Intel chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) said yesterday. “I don’t look at people as competitors. I look at the collaboration... Nvidia is also, you know, a good friend,” Tan told a news conference following his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei. “It’s a very trusted partnership for us... We are a big, top customer for them, and we’re going to continue doing that,” he said, referring to TSMC, the world’s largest foundry
RSS