Crude oil prices rallied near this week’s sky-high records on Friday on concerns that global output will not satisfy rising demand and speculation on the back of a weak US dollar.
New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, rose US$1.38 to close at US$132.19 a barrel, shy of its record close at US$133.17 reached on Wednesday. It struck an intraday peak of US$133.71.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for July delivery hit a high of US$133.74, then settled at US$131.57 a barrel, up US$1.06.
On Thursday, Brent struck an all-time high of US$135.14 and New York crude reached a record US$135.09, before both contracts plunged as investors banked profits.
The two benchmark contracts have climbed more than US$6 in a week.
“While we do expect this bubble to burst and, make no mistake about it, this bubble will burst, we are not ready to say yesterday’s profit-taking selloff was the start of the correction,” the latest daily Schork Report on energy markets published on Friday said.
Oil prices crossed US$100 for the first time in January and hit US$120 by the start of this month. They topped US$130 on Wednesday after government data showed US energy inventories surprisingly fell last week.
Oil prices also are supported by unrest in oil-producing countries, OPEC’s unwillingness to hike output, and a weak dollar which makes commodities priced in the US unit cheaper for buyers using other currencies.
Speculators have poured into commodities as a hedge against inflation as the dollar sinks.
“With the surge in oil prices starting to look increasingly like a speculative mania, further increases are likely in the short term as more and more speculative capital is sucked into the vortex created by rising prices,” said Shane Oliver, chief economist of AMP Capital Investors in Sydney.
Oil at US$150 a barrel “is now just a few weeks’ trading away,” he said.
With supply struggling to meet demand, oil at US$300 per barrel “is not inconceivable on a five-year horizon,” Oliver added on Friday.
Robert Brusca of FAO Economics agreed.
“This is the most obvious bubble I have seen since we poured Little Mermaid bubble bath into the tub with the water running and my daughter squealed with delight at the resulting foam. No one is squealing with delight now,” Brusca said.
Algeria’s energy minister and OPEC president, Chakib Khelil, said Thursday that falling production in non-OPEC countries such as Russia has contributed to the spectacular rise in global oil prices.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS