Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said yesterday that the price of oil is “perfect” and that crude inventories in international markets are on the decline.
“Everything is so good now, we don’t have to think very hard,” al-Naimi told reporters in Cairo, reflecting an agreement among OPEC members to keep production quotas unchanged at a conference later this month in Angola.
Asked if he was not worried about the high level of inventories in international markets, al-Naimi said: “Of course.”
“Inventories are coming down, the price is perfect and all investors, consumers, producers are all very happy,” the oil minister of the world’s largest crude exporter said.
Al-Naimi is in the Egyptian capital to attend a ministerial meeting of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).
On Friday, Arab oil ministers said the OPEC cartel should keep production unchanged when it meets later this month as crude prices are close to the target of US$80 a barrel.
“Why should we raise output?” al-Naimi, asked on arrival in the Egyptian capital for the OAPEC conference. “We still have time [for the meeting]. But right now, the price is okay, between US$70 and US$80. It’s close to the target that we set at US$75 a barrel.”
The oil ministers of Algeria, Libya and Qatar also supported a rollover of oil output when OPEC ministers meet on Dec. 22 in Luanda, Angola, although they said the market was over-supplied.
“OPEC should probably not change production,” at the Luanda meeting, said Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khelil on Friday, but he added that crude prices were slightly low.
Last year, prices slumped to just above US$30 a barrel due to the impact of the global financial meltdown, before recovering to between US$70 and US$80 at present.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RECORD LOW: Global firms’ increased inventories, tariff disputes not yet impacting Taiwan and new graduates not yet entering the market contributed to the decrease Taiwan’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest for the month in 25 years, as strong exports and resilient domestic demand boosted hiring across various sectors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate eased to 3.34 percent, the best performance in 24 years, suggesting a stable labor market, although a mild increase is expected with the graduation season from this month through August, the statistics agency said. “Potential shocks from tariff disputes between the US and China have yet to affect Taiwan’s job market,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling
RSS