Oil prices showed little movement early yesterday as concerns eased about a supply shortage in the US due to the shutdown of a major pipeline in the state of Alaska.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery was up US$0.02 at US$76.33 a barrel in morning Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
US Energy Secretary Samual Bodman said on Tuesday there were adequate supplies to replace oil lost from the shutdown of the BP Exploration Alaska's Prudhoe Bay field.
BP Plc announced late on Sunday it had begun shutting down 400,000 barrels of daily oil production at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska. The price jumped more than US$2 on Monday to settle at US$76.98 a barrel, the highest since July 14, when the settlement was a record US$77.03.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the government's energy statistics arm, said in its short-term energy outlook earlier in the day that it expects Alaskan crude oil production to gradually return to full production before February, based on BP's statement on Monday that recovery would take several months. That would result in the loss of about 50 million barrels of oil over the next six months.
Alaska usually supplies 800,000 barrels of oil a day to the West Coast refineries, or 30 percent of all the oil processed daily in that region, the EIA said in its outlook.
But Bodman said there are adequate supplies to make up for the loss to West Coast refineries. Relatively high inventories of crude oil in the system and oil that can be diverted from other producers, including Saudi Arabia and Mexico, can help meet refinery needs, he said.
"My sense is we're in pretty reasonable shape," Bodman told a news conference.
Despite profit-taking that has held down prices as traders lock in gains and moves to call a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, analysts said prices have the potential to go much higher.
US gasoline stocks were expected to fall for a third straight week in data due yesterday from the EIA. At around 334 million barrels, US crude inventories are at a five-year high, but OPEC's spare capacity is tight -- about 1.1 million to 1.3 million barrels a day, mostly in Saudi Arabia, the EIA said on Tuesday.
Bodman said Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Naimi told him that oil would be made available.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
RSS