Increasing confidence that the worst of the credit crisis is over boosted world stocks on Monday while inflation concerns grew with oil prices heading towards a barrel. Investors have stopped taking it for granted the United States Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later in the week, although most still expect such a move.
World oil prices paused within sight of the $120 level on Thursday after a mixed report on United States energy stockpiles, dealers said. In Asian afternoon trading, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, slipped 25 cents to $118,05 per barrel.
Crude oil prices surged above , setting a new record high on Monday because of worries of supply disruptions from major producers and comments by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) reiterating there is no need to raise output.
World oil prices touched new record highs above $112 a barrel in Asian trade on Tuesday as supply concerns and a sluggish greenback remained key factors behind the hike, dealers said. They said market sentiment remained bullish after the latest United States government data showed a surprise sharp fall in the country’s energy stockpiles.
Oil rose above on Wednesday, bolstered by expectations United States government data would show crude stocks falling for the seventh consecutive week, and as fresh violence in major oil exporter Nigeria revived supply concerns. US light crude for February delivery rose 46 cents to ,44 a barrel by 7.08am GMT, while London Brent crude rose 48 cents to ,33 a barrel.
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/ 31 December 2007
Gold rallied to a seven-week high on Monday and close to a record high of on speculative buying driven by a weak United States dollar and tensions in Pakistan following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Gold has risen more than 30% this year — the biggest annual gain since 1979.
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/ 4 December 2007
Oil prices fell again on Monday, adding to last week’s 10% slump, on continued speculation that the producers’ cartel Opec would agree to increase output when it meets on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. United States light crude futures fell by more than a dollar a barrel in busy trading to about ,50 a barrel — almost a barrel lower than the peak of ,29 set two weeks.
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/ 3 December 2007
Oil bounced back above a barrel on Monday as traders bet last week’s nearly sell-off was overdone, and might turn the tides against an expected increase in output by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries when the cartel meets later this week.
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/ 30 November 2007
The price of oil fell back below a barrel on Friday as the market speculated about the chances of an increase in Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries output at the cartel’s meeting next week, dealers said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, was down ,75 to ,35 per barrel.
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/ 9 November 2007
Oil prices rose on Friday to regain ground lost in a fall the previous session, as persistent supply concerns and a late rebound in United States stocks offset worries about US economic growth. Wall Street fell on Thursday but finished well off its lows after a late rebound in financial shares lifted other stock sectors.
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/ 1 November 2007
Oil leaped more than 1% on Thursday, briefly topping for the first time and extending the previous day’s 5% jump after an unexpected sharp fall in United States crude stocks and data showing strong economic growth. The rise toward oil’s inflation-adjusted peak of ,70 from April 1980 was also supported by US dollar weakness after a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
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/ 29 October 2007
Oil prices jumped to fresh historic highs on Monday, breaching $93 for the first time on mounting concerns about tight energy supplies worldwide, analysts said. Investors pushed up crude futures to new peaks as more bad news in the shape of Mexican production cutbacks came on top of already serious tensions in the Middle East.
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/ 12 September 2007
Oil prices slipped on Wednesday after finishing at a record close in the previous session on worries about tight supplies. Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell six cents to ,17 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late afternoon in Singapore.