World oil prices rose on Friday on lingering supply jitters as traders girded ahead of an OPEC meeting.
Despite recent price spikes, most analysts do not expect the oil producer's cartel to raise its production quotas when it meets in Vienna, Austria, next Tuesday.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, closed up US$0.40 at US$76.70 a barrel.
On Thursday prices in New York had struck US$77.43, not far off the record high of US$78.77 which was hit on Aug. 1.
In London on Friday, the price of Brent North Sea crude for October delivery settled US$0.30 higher at US$75.07 per barrel.
OPEC member Iran indicated on Wednesday it was against any increase in the cartel's production ceiling. At its last regular meeting in March, OPEC members decided to keep their official production quota pegged at 25.8 million barrels of oil per day.
World oil prices had shot up on Tuesday after Qatar's energy minister said OPEC would not move next week to increase the cartel's oil output, despite calls for the organization to respond to tight global supplies and strong energy demand.
Oil traders meanwhile appeared to shrug off news that US employers unexpectedly shed 4,000 jobs last month, marking the first drop in payrolls since August of 2003.
Analysts said oil demand could be dented if US economic growth slows.
"Crude futures remain well supported, with a good potential to the upside. Fundamentally, the market is looking firm and could test its record highs," Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said.
"There is simply too much support at this moment, coming from geopolitical and supply concerns. Also, the Atlantic hurricane season is far from over and could have a few more surprises this autumn. The market also looks strong technically, but resistance at all time highs could prove to be strong," Kryuchenkov said.
Prices spiked on Thursday as news of weaker US energy reserves heightened supply concerns.
The US Energy Department said US crude reserves tumbled by 3.9 million barrels in the week ending Aug. 31.
That was far heavier than analysts' consensus forecasts of a drop of 2.2 million barrels.
Elsewhere, the market was tracking the threat to energy facilities from the ongoing Atlantic hurricane season.
The season's hurricanes so far have spared oil installations, although Mexican production has endured interruptions from the storm threats.
"In the coming weeks, if Middle Eastern tensions increase and this coincides with fresh hurricane warnings in the Gulf, it is easy to see Brent crude smashing through the all-time highs," Bank of Ireland analyst Paul Harris said.
Brent's record high stands at US$78.40, which was reached last year.
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
Tokyo Electron's Taiwan unit today said in a written response that it respects the judicial process, takes the court ruling seriously and would not appeal in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) trade secrets case. Last month, a court fined the Taiwan unit of Japan's Tokyo Electron NT$150 million (US$4.74 million) in a case involving trade secrets related to TSMC's sensitive chip technology.
RSS