Benchmark crude oil futures fell slightly yesterday, but still hovered near their record overnight closing price, as traders worried about future oil production from Saudi Arabia after the death of King Fahd.
More threats from Iran to resume its nuclear processing and refinery fires in the US also supported prices.
Midafternoon in Singapore, light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down US$0.16 to US$61.41 a barrel for the front-month September contracts. It had risen US$1 to close at US$61.57 following news of Fahd's passing and spiked to an all-time intra-day record of US$62.30 a barrel in New York floor trading.
Both were new highs for crude on the Nymex since oil began trading on the exchange in 1983, but prices would have to surpass US$90 to reach the all-time inflated-adjusted high in 1980.
Brent futures for next month on London's International Petroleum Exchange opened US$0.01 up from Monday's US$60.44 a barrel close, then slipped to US$60.35 a barrel.
Saudi Arabia is the world's largest exporter of crude and sits on a quarter of the world's oil reserves.
While oil policy is not expected to change, with oil consumption rising around the world and only a limited amount of excess production capacity available, energy traders are easily put on edge by any geopolitical change, perceived uncertainty or weather patterns in producing regions.
"The question is who will follow them as next in line to become absolute monarch of the world's biggest oil producer," said Energyintel analyst Jane Collin, referring to Abdullah and Sultan. As in neighboring Kuwait, where both the ruler and his heir are in their late 70s, there is no established system for handing over to a younger generation.
"The potential for bitter infighting is already triggering concern about future stability in the oil-rich region," she said.
Traders also are nervous about Iran's plans to resume uranium reprocessing, which is firmly opposed by Washington. Tensions between the world's largest energy consumer and Iran, the No.2 producer within the OPEC cartel, worry oil markets because Tehran has the ability to cripple markets by shutting off its taps. Iran produces about 4 million barrels daily.
Fires last week at a Murphy Oil Corp 120,000 barrel-a-day Meraux refinery in Louisiana and a BP PLC 437,000 barrel-a-day plant in Texas City were the catalyst for prices to move above US$60.
Such shutdowns play into fears that refiners may not be able to catch up with demand, especially during the fourth quarter of the year.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique