Oil prices rose above US$64 a barrel on Friday, finishing 2 percent higher for the week amid concerns about tightening US supplies and as traders looked ahead to the upcoming summer-driving and hurricane seasons.
Light sweet crude for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose US$0.35 to settle at US$64.26 a barrel after gaining US$2.14 a barrel on Thursday.
NYMEX gasoline futures rose US$0.007 to close at US$1.8232 a gallon (US$0.4816 per liter) while heating oil prices settled at US$1.7924, up less than US$0.01.
PHOTO: AP
Natural gas futures fell US$0.038 to settle at US$7.29 per 1,000 cubic feet (US$0.2574 per cubic meter).
Oil analyst Tim Evans of IFR Energy Services in New York said "the markets are higher for now on short-term technical factors, but may not be able to sustain the advance without additional bullish fundamental news."
The US Energy Department said on Wednesday that domestic inventories of crude oil declined by 1.3 million barrels last week to 338.6 million barrels, or 9 percent above year-ago levels.
In spite of this historically high level of crude inventories, market participants are getting nervous because of the geopolitical tensions in Iraq, Iran and Nigeria, and they are looking ahead to possible output disruptions from this year's hurricane season, which starts June 1 and continues through November.
AccuWeather.com experts predicted earlier this week that this year's hurricane season likely would be busy, but probably not as busy as last year, when 26 named storms and 14 hurricanes swept the US, ravaging refineries, oil rigs and pipelines along the Gulf Coast.
Prices were also supported by supply disruptions in Nigeria.
Rome-based Eni SPA's Nigerian unit said it would not fully repair a 75,000-barrel-per-day pipeline until the end of the month.
Analysts at Barclays Capital have said the political turmoil in the Niger Delta, along with the national elections next year, "have the potential to pose a substantial threat to crude oil supplies for a long time to come."
Traders remained concerned about the potential threat of UN Security Council action against Iran, the No. 2 oil producer within OPEC, over its nuclear ambitions.
The US accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge denied by Tehran, which says its program aims only to generate electricity.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have been debating since last week what action the council should take after the UN nuclear watchdog referred Iran to the body.
OPEC has its next meeting scheduled for June 1 in Venezuela. The South American country, the world's fifth largest oil exporter favors constraining output to keep prices high.
Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez argued in favor of a production cut at the group's meeting March 8 in Vienna, Austria.
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