No image available
/ 2 June 2008

Biofuel land demand puts rural poor at risk

The rise of biofuels is not only adding to the global food price crisis but also poses a risk for peasants, pushed off their land to make way for energy crops, a report prepared for this week’s food summit said. The use of food such as maize, palm oil and sugar to produce fuel has been blamed in part for record high commodity prices.

No image available
/ 16 May 2008

Oil price surges to record high above $127

The price of oil rocketed to a record high point of $127,43 per barrel on Friday, as United States President George Bush prepared to urge Saudi Arabia to pump more crude. New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, beat the previous all-time peak of $126,98 set on Tuesday owing to worries about tight supplies.

No image available
/ 13 May 2008

Oil demand set to ease, says energy agency

Record oil prices and a slowdown in advanced economies are set to curb global oil demand despite growth in China and the Middle East, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast on Tuesday, saying stockpiling was a key factor. Demand from emerging economies might be set back if and when governments decide that fuel subsidies are unsustainable, the IEA said.

No image available
/ 14 April 2008

Oil prices ease from record highs

Oil prices eased from recent highs in Asian trade on Monday after international finance ministers warned that near-term global economic prospects had weakened. In afternoon trade, New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, fell by 29 cents to ,85 per barrel.

No image available
/ 12 March 2008

Oil bubbles near $109

Oil prices were close to $109 in Asian trade on Wednesday, underpinned by the United States dollar’s dive to a new low against the euro and supply concerns, dealers said. In late morning trade, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, traded briefly at $108,90 a barrel, up 15 cents from its record closing high of $108,75 on Tuesday.

No image available
/ 13 February 2008

IEA: Oil market could be set for lengthy slowdown

The world oil market could be set for a lengthy slowdown, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, signalling a sharp shift in the climate that pushed the oil price to $100 last month. "Just as the demand shock of 2004 shaped the oil market for the next three years, so too could the pending slowdown," the IEA said in its monthly review of oil trends.

No image available
/ 13 February 2008

Venezuela halts oil supplies to Exxon Mobil

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez stopped oil exports to Exxon Mobil on Tuesday, escalating a multibillion-dollar fight with the United States company two days after threatening to cut off all supplies to America. The anti-US president’s retaliation for Exxon’s legal offensive pushed oil prices higher in late trading.

No image available
/ 29 January 2008

Opec set to resist pressure for more oil

Opec is widely expected to resist consumer calls for more oil when it meets on Friday, worried by a slowing United States economy and the onset of seasonally lower demand in the spring. Oil has fallen to around a barrel from a record ,09 on January 3, easing pressure on Opec to pump more.

No image available
/ 9 January 2008

Tough to pump more oil, even at $100

Oil at a barrel should give exporters every incentive to pump more, but their difficulty in doing so shows the world is struggling to sustain production. A growing number of leading industry figures now question mainstream forecasts for supply, suggesting the era of ”plateau oil” is nearer than many had admitted.

No image available
/ 30 November 2007

India eyes role as ‘wind superpower’

India might be painted as a pollution-spewing, global-warming economy of one billion people but it is also one of the world’s biggest wind power users, part of a focus on renewable energy mostly unnoticed in the West. Years of tax incentives have helped make India one of the fastest-growing markets for wind power, a major component of renewable energy.

No image available
/ 13 November 2007

Oil prices drop on Opec news, stronger dollar

Oil prices dropped on Tuesday after a key Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) member left open the possibility the oil cartel will increase output to curb rising prices, and following the strengthening of the dollar overnight. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell by six cents to ,56 a barrel.

No image available
/ 7 November 2007

Oil crosses $98 a barrel

Oil prices jumped to a new trading record above $98 a barrel on Wednesday amid expectations of declining United States supplies. The weak dollar and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’s apparent reluctance to pump more crude into the market also boosted prices.

No image available
/ 15 October 2007

Oil prices surge following Opec supply report

Oil prices surged above a barrel on Monday for the first time after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) said crude production by non-Opec countries is falling even as global demand for oil is rising. Prices were also supported by concerns Turkish forces will pursue Kurdish rebels into Iraq.

No image available
/ 12 September 2007

Oil prices slip after record close

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.