Oil prices surged past US$67 a barrel in Asian trading yesterday after al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden threatened new attacks against the US, dealers said.
Bin Laden's latest threat, which was made in an audiotape broadcast over al-Jazeera television, further fuelled market tensions triggered by potential supply disruptions in major oil producers Iran and Nigeria, they said.
At 7:15am GMT, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, was up US$0.27 at US$67.10 a barrel, the highest in four months, from its close of US$66.83 in the US on Thursday.
"The bin Laden tape has caused a knee-jerk reaction on the part of the market," said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst with the US energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz.
He said speculation by oil traders could push prices to US$70 a barrel, which would be just below the all-time high of US$70.85 on Aug. 30 last year after Hurricane Katrina hammered US oil production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico region.
"There is certainly the possibility [of oil prices hitting US$70]. The recent events have attracted speculators and oil has become a lot like an investment," Shum said.
Meanwhile, the geo-political fallout from Iran's decision to resume sensitive nuclear activities and unrest in Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, remained key ingredients to the market's volatility.
"Geo-politics is behind the surge in oil pricing... The Nigerian unrest has caused a disruption in supply," Shum said.
Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell, Nigeria's biggest producer and so far the main target of the attacks by separatist militants, has been forced to cut output by 226,000 barrels per day since the crisis began over a week ago.
Iran, the second-biggest crude oil producer in the OPEC cartel, has warned Western powers that sanctions over its controversial nuclear program could provoke a world oil crisis.
The geo-political situation overshadowed the US Department of Energy's report on Wednesday that US energy stockpiles rose across the board in the week ended Jan. 13, news that would normally depress oil prices.
Crude stocks rose 2.7 million barrels over the week to total 321.4 million barrels, it said.
Supplies of distillate products, used to make heating fuel and diesel, rose 900,000 barrels to 134.7 million. Reserves of gasoline, or petrol, were up 2.8 million barrels at 211.6 million.
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
STRAIT OF HORMUZ: In the case of a prolonged blockade by Iran, Taiwan would look to sources of LNG outside the Middle East, including Australia and the US Taiwan would not have to ration power due to a shortage of natural gas, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, after reports that the Strait of Hormuz was closed amid the conflict in the Middle East. The government has secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies for this month and contingency measures are in place if the conflict extends into next month, Kung told lawmakers. Saying that 25 percent of Taiwan’s natural gas supplies are from Qatar, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) asked about the situation in light of the conflict. There would be “no problems” with
PLANE HIT: The Israeli military said it shot down an Iranian Air Force fighter over Tehran, while an Iranian warship sank off Sri Lanka, with no cause known The US and Israel yesterday hit Iran’s capital and other cities in multiple airstrikes on the fifth day of the war with Iran. Israel targeted the Iranian leadership and security forces, while the Islamic Republic responded with missile barrages and drone attacks on Israel, and across the region. Tehran residents woke to dawn blasts and Iranian state television showed the ruins of building in the center of the capital. The Shiite seminary city of Qom and multiple other cities were also targeted. With fighter jets roaring overhead, those still in Tehran looked anxiously to the skies. One man, who ran a clothing shop,
Taiwan pineapples are to be exported to the US for the first time later this year, after the US yesterday announced importation requirements, the Ministry of Agriculture said today. The US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service yesterday published a draft of requirements to import Taiwanese pineapples, with a 62-day comment period, the ministry said in a news release. The US maintains strict requirements for imported fresh fruit, it said. The ministry’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency applied to export pineapples to the US in 2020 and has since cooperated with the US to provide all the necessary information and reports, it
RSS