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Crude oil may touch $175 by Diwali on growing demand [ 03 Jul, 2008]
Skyrocketing crude oil prices are likely to continue the upward march and could reach $175 a barrel by Diwali unless there is a significant decline in demand from growing economies, analysts say.
Crude oil prices have risen by about $40 since March. Currently on New York Mercantile Exchange, oil traded near record high levels around $142.
“Considering the current situation and pace of price rise, crude oil rates may go up to $175 per barrel in the global market. Prices may get fresh triggers, if Israel attacks Iran this year which would affect Middle East supplies,” Religare Commodities head (commodity business) Jayant Manglik said.
High volatility spurred by uncertain geo-political tensions, slumping US economy and spiralling demand across the world would continue to support the already high crude oil prices, he said.
“If you look at the technical chart, prices have moved upwards in the past six months and we expect the bullish trend to continue further in the coming months. Prices may go beyond $175 per barrel and touch $200 per barrel,” Mumbai-based Kotak Commodities Services technical analyst Dharmesh Bhatia said. Amid the rising crude oil prices, there seem to be no respite for India and other countries, which are reeling under high inflationary pressure.
“Oil demand is rising higher than the supply. Although it is difficult to predict how much prices would inch up but they may rally in the range of $140-150 per barrel,” industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) expert Anjan Roy said.
“Price rise is driving countries to look at alternative energy and conservation. I think this would keep a check on a rise in additional demand for crude oil,” Mr Roy added. According to experts, crude oil prices would decrease only when the demand falls significantly, which seems unlikely, or there is improvement in supply position.
Source: Economic Times
Singapore - ADNOC ups crude price by $8.25 [ 03 Jul, 2008]
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) raised the June retroactive selling price of its key Murban crude by $8.25 to a record of $134.00 a barrel, the company said on Wednesday.
But it cut the grade’s premium to the average for Dubai crude by less than expected. It set Murban at a $6.18 a barrel premium to the June average for Dubai crude, down 7 cents from a $6.25 premium for May and less than the at least 10 cents that refiners had expected.
Dubai crude oil quoted by reporting agency Platts averaged $127.82 a barrel for June. “Too bad, that’s much less than we had hoped for,” said a Chinese trader. The cut came after Murban differentials flipped into discounts on the spot market last month, trading as much as 15 cents below the ADNOC price.
Abu Dhabi grades had suffered from a gas oil crack to Dubai that had in June come off its highs reached in May, traders said. It stood on Wednesday at $32.85 a barrel, after surging above $45 a barrel in May. The UAE is the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter. Its output stood at around 2.59 million barrels per day in May, a Reuters survey showed.
Source: The News Pakistan
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