Global oil prices ended mixed on Friday at the end of a record-breaking week with tensions still high over tight supplies and Gulf of Mexico storms.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, eased US$0.16 to close at US$81.62 per barrel.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for November delivery rose US$0.21 to settle at US$79.30 per barrel, after hitting an all-time high of US$79.94 per barrel.
Traders are worried that stormy weather in the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about one quarter of US oil output, could disrupt production and stretch tight global supplies ahead of peak US winter demand for heating fuel.
The New York October contract on Thursday rocketed to a record US$84.10 per barrel before its expiry, while Brent surged past its previous peak set in August last year.
Prices are setting fresh records owing to the "evacuation of oil rigs and platforms" in the Gulf of Mexico, Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish said.
"The concern is that what is currently only a tropical disturbance in the eastern Gulf could develop into a tropical storm and companies have already started evacuating workers from the area," he said.
Sucden analyst Michael Davies said that "crude futures remain well supported by a number of fundamental factors."
"The most recent support came from news that over 360,100 barrels of daily oil output was closed in the Gulf of Mexico, as energy producers were shutting down production facilities, because of a tropical storm developing in the region," he said.
Crude futures have enjoyed a record-breaking week in New York and London as traders have seized on supply worries ahead of the forthcoming northern hemisphere winter season.
Prices have also drawn strength from the diving US currency, which makes dollar-denominated commodities such as oil cheaper for foreign buyers using other currencies.
The US Federal Reserve's decision Tuesday to cut key interest rates by a bigger-than-expected 50 basis points to 4.75 percent has also perked up the oil market, which expects the cut to spur demand in the world's biggest energy consumer.
"Everybody is worried about the [US] inventory level going into the fourth quarter," said Tony Nunan, energy risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.
The US Department of Energy had said Wednesday that American crude inventories plunged by 3.8 million barrels in the week ending September 14, underscoring global supply tightness.
That marked the 10th consecutive weekly drop and was almost double analysts' consensus forecasts for a fall of about 2 million barrels.
Mike Fitzpatrick at MF Global said there is a possibility of a further correction in prices after the sharp gains.
"I think the prices will come down to about US$74 to US$76," he said. "We suspect that a sharp correction is imminent."
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) last week recorded an increase in the number of shareholders to the highest in almost eight months, despite its share price falling 3.38 percent from the previous week, Taiwan Stock Exchange data released on Saturday showed. As of Friday, TSMC had 1.88 million shareholders, the most since the week of April 25 and an increase of 31,870 from the previous week, the data showed. The number of shareholders jumped despite a drop of NT$50 (US$1.59), or 3.38 percent, in TSMC’s share price from a week earlier to NT$1,430, as investors took profits from their earlier gains
In a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, Chinese scientists have built what Washington has spent years trying to prevent: a prototype of a machine capable of producing the cutting-edge semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence (AI), smartphones and weapons central to Western military dominance, Reuters has learned. Completed early this year and undergoing testing, the prototype fills nearly an entire factory floor. It was built by a team of former engineers from Dutch semiconductor giant ASML who reverse-engineered the company’s extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, according to two people with knowledge of the project. EUV machines sit at the heart of a technological Cold
Taiwan’s long-term economic competitiveness will hinge not only on national champions like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) but also on the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, a US-based scholar has said. At a lecture in Taipei on Tuesday, Jeffrey Ding, assistant professor of political science at the George Washington University and author of "Technology and the Rise of Great Powers," argued that historical experience shows that general-purpose technologies (GPTs) — such as electricity, computers and now AI — shape long-term economic advantages through their diffusion across the broader economy. "What really matters is not who pioneers
TAIWAN VALUE CHAIN: Foxtron is to fully own Luxgen following the transaction and it plans to launch a new electric model, the Foxtron Bria, in Taiwan next year Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) yesterday said that its board of directors approved the disposal of its electric vehicle (EV) unit, Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車), to Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進) for NT$787.6 million (US$24.98 million). Foxtron, a half-half joint venture between Yulon affiliate Hua-Chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co (華創車電) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), expects to wrap up the deal in the first quarter of next year. Foxtron would fully own Luxgen following the transaction, including five car distributing companies, outlets and all employees. The deal is subject to the approval of the Fair Trade Commission, Foxtron said. “Foxtron will be
RSS