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

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (14953)	5/13/2005 10:31:17 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25522

Oil Prices Drop Below $49 a Barrel Level Friday May 13, 9:23 am ET By George Jahn, Associated Press Writer Oil Prices Dip Below $49 a Barrel Level, Weighed Down by Rising Supplies in the U.S. VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Crude drifted upward Friday but remained at lows not seen since February, weighed down by the realities of rising supplies in the United States and falling demand in China. Analysts forecast relatively bearish markets at least until the end of summer, barring the unlikely scenario that too sharp a drop in prices prompts production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Light, sweet crude for June delivery was up 25 cents at $48.79 by afternoon in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract had slid nearly $2 Thursday to settle at $48.54. The last time crude futures settled below $49 was Feb. 18. Nymex heating oil and unleaded gasoline were also both up less than a cent, at $1.388 and $1.4375 a gallon respectively. On London's International Petroleum Exchange, June Brent crude futures rose 27 cents a barrel to $48.61. Steady increases in U.S. inventories have sent crude oil prices down nearly 20 percent since hitting a record $58.28 in early April. However, the contract remains about 19 percent higher than this time last year. On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Department said domestic crude inventories grew by 2.7 million barrels last week to 329.7 million barrels, or 10 percent above year-ago levels. The Paris-based International Energy Agency also said Wednesday that oil demand in China rose 4.5 percent in the first quarter, a sharp decline from the 19.3 percent year-on-year jump in the first three months of 2004. China is the world's second-largest consumer of crude behind the United States, and increasing demand there has been blamed for dwindling supplies. "Rising oil and gas inventories, a slight reduction for core regions in IAEA's demand forecast and a rising dollar resulted in the downward pressure," Vienna's PVM Oil Associates said in its daily energy market report. It forecast a further short-term bearish trend, with prices possibly sliding into the lower $40s. "But summer driving and winter heating demand, as well as tight up- and downstream capacity in the third and fourth quarters should combine to return levels to $50 again, if not higher, particularly if there are any outages or other supply related problems." In London, Deutsche Bank analyst Adam Sieminski also said crude would probably trade between USS40-$50 into summer. Prices are "going to go down as far as the Saudis are comfortable with and they will stop when the Saudis become uncomfortable," he said. OPEC announced earlier this week that -- including member Iraq, which is not under production quotas as it rebuilds -- the organization had increased output by 600,000 barrels a day compared to April to 30.3 million daily. Oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia accounts for most of the extra supply.