Nice move on FPPC
And here I thought the oil problem was all fixed
Oil Leaps Over $52 on Refinery Worries
1 hour, 22 minutes ago
Business - Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices vaulted over $52 a barrel on Tuesday, breaking a two-week slump from record highs as refinery problems in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer, reignited supply worries.
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U.S. light crude climbed $1.73, or about 3 percent to $52.10 a barrel, down from an all-time record $58.28 struck on April 4, but around $8 up from prices at the end of 2004. London's Brent crude rose $2.06 to $52.84 a barrel.
The jolt higher on the back of a rally in gasoline ended a two-week slide triggered by rising crude inventories in the United States, additional OPEC supply and signs that strong demand growth, especially in China, is easing.
"More and more people are becoming convinced that oil above $55 is not sustainable in the long term. But a lot of people are willing to come back into the market when prices go below $50," said David Thurtell, a Sydney-based commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
A jump in U.S. gasoline prices drove the gains, with May gasoline on the New York Mercantile Exchange up 7.06 cents at $1.5650 a gallon.
Refinery problems in Kansas, Louisiana, and Texas fueled the rise. "It looks like troubles at refineries are behind the surge in gasoline and this is pushing up the market," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago.
Analysts are predicting that U.S. crude inventories will rise for the 10th week in a row when the government Energy Information Administration releases fresh data on Wednesday.
U.S. crude stocks are at the highest level since June, 2002, and a preliminary Reuters survey of nine analysts forecasts inventories increasing by another 1.8 million barrels in the week to April 15.
The head of OPEC said on Monday the producers' cartel would pump near 25-year highs next month although it would postpone any formal increase in output limits until a June meeting.
President Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah, also Kuwait's energy minister, said OPEC output would add 500,000 barrels per day to output in May to prepare for a surge in demand later in the year ahead of the northern hemisphere winter.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia has already told customers to expect more oil in May. |
