Oil nears record peaks at $144.00
Pastor Dale Morgan
Oil nears record peaks at $144.00*
From correspondents in New York
July 01, 2008 06:51am
Article from: Agence France-Presse
OIL prices briefly hit record highs of close to $US144 per barrel today,
as the US dollar slid and Europeans protested sky-high crude costs.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August
delivery, closed down 21 cents at $US140 a barrel, not far off its
record closing high of $US140.21 struck on Saturday.
The contract had surged to a record $US143.67 in earlier trading
activity in volatile trade.
In London, Brent North Sea oil for August delivery scored a historic
peak of $US143.91 a barrel before settling down 48 cents at $US139.83.
High fuel prices sparked protests today among hundreds of truckers
across France, blocking main highways and snarling commuter traffic
around Paris.
Meanwhile, leading figures in the oil world gathered in Madrid for a
conference with the search for a remedy to record crude prices again
stymied by division about its causes.
"Crude oil prices have continued to rise, given continued dollar
weakness against the major currencies," said analysts at energy
consultancy John Hall Associates.
"Geopolitical tensions are also evident ... given continued unrest in
Nigeria following news of another attack on the country's oil
infrastructure and simmering tensions between Israel and Iran," the
analysts said.
In Nigeria, two unidentified gunmen and two civilians were killed, one
of them beheaded, in two separate attacks on Saturday in southern
Nigeria's oil-rich Bonny Island, a military spokesman said.
Bonny hosts several multinational oil and gas firms and is also home to
Nigeria's multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas production.
Nigeria's daily production has been cut by about a quarter because of
attacks, kidnappings and sabotage in the region over the past two years.
Elsewhere, tensions over crude producer Iran and its nuclear ambitions,
which Tehran says are peaceful, also kept the market on edge.
The commander of the US navy's Fifth Fleet warned that the United States
will not allow Iran to shut the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf sea
lane through which much of the world's oil is supplied.
"They will not close it ... They will not be allowed to close it," US
vice-admiral Kevin Cosgriff said in Bahrain, where the Fifth Fleet is based.
Global oil prices have doubled in the past year and have risen by almost
50 per cent since the start of the year, when they breached $US100 for
the first time, triggering fears over inflation and slower economic growth.
Consumer countries blame record prices on tight supplies amid strong
demand and unrest in producer countries such as Iran, Iraq and Nigeria.
In particular, they accuse OPEC of not producing enough crude.
The 13-nation Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries,
however, insists that the weak dollar is at fault, as it drives up
demand. Oil is priced in dollars and becomes cheaper for holders of many
non-dollar currencies.
In Madrid, the world's biggest oil producers and consumers gathered for
the industry's four-day World Petroleum Congress to explore ways of
calming energy markets.
The WPC meeting comes one week after participants failed to stem
record-breaking oil prices at a summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Pressure is mounting for a response to ease the pain of consumers
suffering from high fuel costs.
One of the main points of contention is the role of speculators, blamed
consistently by producer countries for the doubling of crude prices over
the last 12 months.
Western oil chiefs, backing the view of governments in consumer
countries, insist that speculators are the wrong target and that the
failure of supply to match rising demand is the real cause.