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| Crude Oil Gains for 6th Day in Seven on Rising U.S. Fuel Demand
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Location: Blogs In The Media |
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| Posted by: Community Fuels |
1/6/2005 |
United States (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for the sixth day in seven on signs of rising gasoline demand in the U.S. because of a growing economy.
Friday, January 6, 2006
Crude Oil Gains for 6th Day in Seven on Rising U.S. Fuel Demand |
United States (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for the sixth day in seven on signs of rising gasoline demand in the U.S. because of a growing economy.
U.S. oil consumption, including gasoline and heating oil, set a record last month, reaching 22.2 million barrels a day, according to Energy Department estimates. Mohammed Barkindo, acting secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, cited strong global demand today as a reason the group probably won't cut production.
Crude oil for February delivery rose 59 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $63.38 a barrel at 9:35 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures are 39 percent higher than a year ago and have rallied 12 percent in the past two weeks.
``People are now confident of the global economy with oil prices in the high $50s to low $60s,'' said Kevin Norrish, an analyst at Barclays Capital in London. ``Crude oil fundamentals are setting the tone now and it has emerged that demand was strong toward the end of last year'' in the U.S. and Japan.
Oil in New York reached a record $70.85 a barrel on Aug. 30 after Hurricane Katrina disrupted supplies in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Oil has been above $50 a barrel since May 2005.
``The price gets above $60 and OPEC is a dove,'' said Subash Chandra, an analyst at Morgan Keegan & Co. in New York. ``It gets below $60 and it gets hawkish, so the market's got a very good sense of where OPEC wants prices.'' The 11-member group meets Jan. 31 in Vienna to discuss its production levels.
OPEC, whose members supply about 40 percent of the world's oil, is pumping at levels close to a 25-year high to meet greater-than-expected demand and replace U.S. supplies that were lost because of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Oil prices at around $60 a barrel point to strong demand, indicating less need for a cut, Barkindo said.
Oil prices may rise next week in New York, according to the majority of those questioned in a weekly Bloomberg survey. Twenty of 38 traders and analysts surveyed yesterday, or 53 percent, said prices would climb. Twelve, or 32 percent, forecast a fall and six expected little change. Oil this week is up 4.1 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Matthew Leising in New York at mleising@bloomberg.net;
Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net. |
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Matthew Leising and Stephen Voss | |
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