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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: willcousa who wrote (14754)	5/4/2005 8:19:21 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

Oil Prices Stay Below $50 Per Barrel Wednesday May 4, 6:46 am ET By George Jahn, Associated Press Writer Oil Prices Stay Below $50 Per Barrel on Anticipation Report Will Show Crude Supply Increases VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Benchmark oil prices stayed below $50 per barrel Wednesday, reflecting expectations that a U.S. petroleum stocks report later in the day would show increases in crude and gasoline supplies. Analysts said that while the market could fluctuate slightly ahead of the data, its general lack of movement showed readiness for a selloff if U.S. stocks did move upward. After opening lower, light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 8 cents at $49.58 by midday in Europe. Unleaded gas was down slightly at $1.4555 per gallon, while heating oil was up slightly at $1.4362. On London's International Petroleum Exchange, the June Brent contract fell 2 cents to $50.50 per barrel, extending its relative gains over the past few weeks against U.S. benchmark crude. "Expectations are that both crude and product stocks are going to rise -- that means even higher stocks that already are very high" in the world's greatest energy consuming nation, said analyst Ehsan Ul-Haq of Vienna's PVM energy consultants. "Prices are going down all over the world, but most severely in the West." Ul-Haq said that in a month alone, the price of benchmark crude in the United States has fallen by $7.80 a barrel, while the price of Brent has eased by about $6 a barrel. Part of the trend has to do with the economic picture in the United States. The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates Tuesday to curb spending as overall consumer prices spiked by 0.6 percent in March, driven by expensive gasoline and energy products. The move could slow growth in the world's largest economy, reducing demand for oil, traders said. "One reason oil prices got hit hard last week was the barrage of weaker-than-expected macroeconomic reports," said Phil Flynn, an analyst with Chicago-based Alaron Futures and Options, on the firm's Web site. "Traders started thinking it would be difficult for oil demand to remain strong if the economy softened." The U.S. Department of Energy petroleum stocks report, due later Wednesday, is a catalyst for price movements. Analysts expect an increase in supplies of crude oil, distillates and gasoline that would likely send prices further below the $50 mark. An across-the-board rise in all the petroleum stocks would be the first in the United States for 4 months. Crude supplies in the United States have risen in recent weeks, but concern remains over the country's gasoline stocks ahead of the summer driving season. Last week, Washington said inventories of crude oil grew by 5.5 million barrels to 324.4 million barrels, or 9 percent above year-ago levels -- the 10th increase in 11 weeks. Although crude futures have fallen by more than $8 since their all-time high of $58.28 in early April, prices remain around 30 percent higher than a year ago. On Tuesday, the Paris-based International Energy Agency urged nations to diversify energy supplies and reiterated its warning that persistently high oil prices are "a drag on economic activity and growth." "Today's prices demand actions to stimulate and diversify energy supply and curb demand," the IEA said.