AP, SINGAPORE
Oil prices rebounded yesterday in Asia to near US$117 a barrel on concerns a widening conflict between Russia and Georgia over a breakaway province could disrupt supplies in the region.
Light, sweet crude for next month delivery rose US$1.64 to US$116.84 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. The contract fell US$4.82 on Friday to settle at US$115.20 a barrel.
“The market is watching what happens there closely,” said Mark Pervan, senior commodity strategist at ANZ Bank in Melbourne. “It’s not a major oil producer, but there are major transport links to Europe through that region.”
US President George W. Bush sharply criticized Moscow’s harsh military crackdown in Georgia yesterday, saying the violence is unacceptable and Russia’s response was disproportionate.
On Sunday, Vice President Dick Cheney told Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili that “Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States,” Cheney’s office reported.
In London, Brent crude for delivery next month rose US$1.77 to US$115.10 a barrel.
NYMEX crude is still down about US$30 from its high of US$147.27 on July 11, and many investors see the drop-off in prices as a buying opportunity.
“Losses have been pretty sharp in the last few weeks and there’s always someone looking to buy on the dip,” Pervan said.
Oil rose despite a stronger dollar. The euro fell to US$1.4975 against the dollar in Asian currency trade, while the dollar is holding near ¥110.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS