Oil prices stabilized yesterday after choppy trading on Monday when crude sank beneath US$60 per barrel on fading supply tensions, dealers said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, gained just US$0.02 to US$61.47 per barrel in electronic deals before the official opening of the US market. The contract had sunk to US$59.52 on Monday, the lowest level since March 8.
In London yesterday, Brent North Sea crude for November delivery gained US$0.06 to US$60.86 per barrel in electronic trading. It touched a low of US$59.32 on Monday -- also last seen on March 8.
Crude futures had bounced off the six-month lows on Monday to finish above US$60 as the market failed to hold below the key psychological barrier.
"The market seems to be quite oversold," said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist with Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo.
Dealers said the market was concerned that OPEC may begin to trim production if prices drop much further.
"I think that the market is watching out for any signs of what OPEC might do and what prices they may support," said Mark Pervan, an energy analyst for Daiwa Securities in Melbourne.
Monday's price lows came as tensions eased over the Iranian nuclear energy crisis, and BP said it would resume output at Prudhoe Bay, the biggest oil field in the US.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a