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/ 6 September 2008
US traders returning to their desks from the Labor Day weekend sold oil after earlier falls on Monday, helping to push the price down about 8%.
Oil smashed past $135 a barrel for the first time on Thursday, continuing its astonishing rise following unexpected drops in United States crude and petrol stocks in a tight market, dealers said. Large institutional investors continued to pile money into oil, which is giving better returns than investments in stocks and bonds, further heating up prices, they said.
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.
World oil prices hit a fresh record high point close to $125 per barrel on Friday, extending this week’s record run after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries insisted the market was well-supplied and driven by speculators. New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, spiked to an historic $124,73 per barrel.
International concern mounted as world oil prices edged closer to $120 a barrel Wednesday and the world’s top producer called for calm. Analysts said a weakening United States dollar, supply worries in Nigeria and the reluctance of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase output have all contributed to the price surge.
The price of New York oil on Wednesday struck an historic peak at $114,95 on news that United States energy inventories tumbled last week and as the US currency hit an all-time low against the euro, traders said. Later on Wednesday, New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, stood at $114,37 a barrel, up 58 cents on Tuesday’s close.
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.
Oil prices were steady on Thursday after retreating from levels just cents below the record trading high established in the previous session on an unexpected drop in United States crude inventories. By afternoon in Europe, the contract was up 25 cents, fetching ,12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil prices rose on Monday in Asia as prospects for further cuts in United States interest rates seemed more likely after poor US jobs data at the end of last week. The US Labour Department said on Friday that employers cut payrolls by 80 000 jobs last month, many more than analysts had expected.
Oil prices slipped more than a barrel on Monday as traders worried that the flagging United States economy would cause oil demand to soften. Oil’s sharp decline started last week. Crude futures started plunging after the US Federal Reserve-backed sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase created fears of deeper economic problems.
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.
World oil prices eased further from the historic $100-a-barrel level on Monday after weak US employment data fanned worries about recession and demand in the world’s biggest energy consumer, dealers said. In afternoon trade, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, was 71 cents lower at $97,20 a barrel.
A lone trader out to win a little fame made the purchase that took oil prices to the historic level of dollars a barrel this week but he lost on the deal, analysts said. The trader has been named by United States and British media as Richard Arens, who runs a one-man oil brokerage, ABS.
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/ 26 November 2007
Oil prices rose to near a barrel on Monday on signs of colder weather in the United States and Europe and the continued weakness of the dollar. The Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday marked the unofficial start of winter in the US. Among other areas, south-eastern New Mexico got up to 23cm of snow.
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/ 7 November 2007
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.
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/ 20 September 2007
Oil prices kept rising on Thursday after reaching record highs in the previous session on United States refinery outages and declines in US oil inventories. A decline earlier in the day was reversed in part by worries over a potential tropical-storm threat to oil and gas installations in the Gulf of Mexico, analysts said.
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/ 18 September 2007
Oil prices topped 81 dollars a barrel for the first time on Tuesday, setting another record high amid fears of critically tight supplies for the winter season in the United States. Opec’s announcement last week that it would pump an extra 500 000 barrels per day from November has failed to stop the surge in price.
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/ 14 September 2007
New York oil prices fell on Friday on profit-taking after striking a fresh record peak above $80 a barrel overnight on concerns over tight supplies of United States crude, dealers said. New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October dropped 57 cents to $79,52 per barrel.