Oil prices surged to a record high above US$98 a barrel in Asian trade yesterday and to within touching distance of the landmark US$100 level in a "crazy" market, dealers said.
The rise came after the US dollar hit a new low and amid expectations of more falls in US energy reserves, with both factors luring speculators to the fray, they said.
"It's a crazy market. People just want to get more money and are betting on the upside," said Tetsu Emori, an analyst with Astmax.
PHOTO: REUTERS
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery next month hit a record trading high of US$98.03 before easing back to US$97.96. That was US$1.26 up from the closing record high of US$96.70 in the US on Tuesday.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery next month broke US$94 for the first time to a new high of US$94.54, up US$1.28 from Tuesday's finish.
"The dollar is falling very sharply this morning in Asia and commodities usually advance" when that happens, said Dariusz Kowalczyk, the chief investment strategist at CFC Seymour in Hong Kong.
The oil price trend was still upward and there was "nothing to change" that, Kowalczyk said.
A lower dollar makes oil more affordable for buyers in other currencies. The greenback has been sliding over growing speculation of another interest rate cut in the US, which is struggling with a credit crunch caused by a crisis over defaults on subprime loans extended to riskier homebuyers.
The euro soared to a fresh record high against the ailing dollar in Asian trade yesterday -- to as high as US$1.4665 at one point, dealers said.
Traders were also betting on a further decline in US crude reserves ahead of the northern hemisphere winter, when demand for heating fuel is expected to shoot up.
The US Department of Energy was to release yesterday its energy reserves report for the week ended Nov. 2. Crude supplies fell in the previous two weekly reports.
The consensus forecast is for US crude reserves to have fallen by 1.7 million barrels following recent disruptions to Mexican output.
"If the inventory figures are bad again then [New York crude] could push up," CMC Markets trader Nas Nijjar said. "It still feels as though there will be a test of the US$100 level ... We're not seeing any large sellers in this market."
The US Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday global oil supply would likely remain tight, supporting high prices.
It said that "global oil markets will likely remain stretched" because world oil demand has grown much faster than oil supply outside of OPEC. That had put pressure on OPEC and inventories to bridge the gap, it said, adding geopolitical risks, tight inventories in rich countries and worldwide refining bottlenecks were set to keep crude oil prices high and volatile.
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
J-6 REMODEL: The converted drones are part of Beijing’s expanding mix of airpower weapons, including bombers with stand-off missiles and UAV swarms, the report said China has stationed obsolete supersonic fighters converted to attack drones at six air bases close to the Taiwan Strait, a report published this month by the Arlington, Virginia-based Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies said. Satellite imagery of the airfields from the institute’s “China Airpower Tracker” shows what appear to be lines of stubby, swept-winged aircraft matching the shape of J-6 fighters that first flew with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force in the 1960s. Since their conversion to drones, the aircraft have been identified at five bases in China’s Fujian Province and one in Guangdong Province, the report said. J.
RSS