Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Abner Hosmer who wrote (8449)	3/18/1998 12:01:00 AM
From: Ron Everest	Respond to of 116823

infoseek.com Crude Oil, Silver Lead Commodities Lower 06:20 p.m Mar 17, 1998 Eastern NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil prices continued lower Tuesday as the market traded under $13 a barrel for the first time in almost 10 years and traders saw little reason to expect a price recovery any time soon. Gold and silver prices also fell as speculators continued to probe for a bottom to recent downward trends. Those sales added to a push that sent the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index down to a new 1998 low of 156.72 points during the day. The GSCI index closed at 158.08, down 0.42 point. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for April delivery closed seven cents lower at $13.21 a barrel after changing hands at a low price of $12.80 during the day, the lowest trade for oil since October, 1988. April crude had closed at $14.06 on Friday. Steady selling was tied to an over-riding abundance of oil supplies on the world market and on a lack of confidence that the dominant exporter group, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, can do anything to rein in oil sales. ''A tidal wave of oil is waiting to engulf the industry this year unless something is done,'' the London-based Center for Global Energy Studies said Tuesday. ''OPEC is at an impasse. Only the depth of the price fall could make its key members change their tune,'' it said. World crude oil supplies were estimated to be in surplus by up to two million barrels per day, an oil glut tied to slower demand this year due to the Asian economic slowdown and weaker heating demand during a warmer than expected winter in the northern hemisphere. OPEC producers, however, have continued selling into that demand, pushing oil prices down from above the $20 level as recently as November. OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, remains at odds with OPEC producers like Venezuela, which is pumping oil 30 percent above its official OPEC production ceiling and spurning Saudi calls to curb sales. Nigeria and Iraq are also producing far above quotas, citing the need for oil revenues to support economic growth. OPEC postponed until March 30 a meeting of its market monitoring committee and hopes that an emergency meeting could be called have evaporated. In addition to these bearish developments, Iraq is expected to increase its oil exports even more later this year following the United Nations's recent decision to increase its allowable oil sales to raise funds to buy food and other supplies. ''If it's left to the speculators the price will go lower,'' said Russell Hill of Austrian oil company OMV. Oil product prices at NYMEX continued to follow crude, with April gasoline closing 0.35 cent a gallon lower at 44.89 cents and April heating oil 0.04 cent a gallon lower at 38.48 cents. Precious metals prices also fell back, led by a speculative sell-off in silver. May silver at the COMEX closed 26.00 cents lower at $5.835 after slipping to a two-month low of $5.80. Traders said physical deliveries have been completed for a massive purchase of 129.7 million ounces of silver that U.S. billionaire Warren Buffet announced in February. That news drove silver futures prices to nine-year highs at $7.50. ''Although the acute supply tightness of early February has vanished, the narrow spread relationships would suggest a relatively tight supply situation which is likely to become tighter if another global supply shortfall occurs in 1998,'' said Salomon Smith Barney analyst David Rinehimer. April gold at COMEX ended down $2.80 an ounce at $292.30. Gold prices have been supported by some producer buybacks from South African miners in recent weeks, but have run into resistance above $300 an ounce from some Australian producer sales to lock in prices, traders said. ''The gold market continues to key off of the potential for gold sales by European central banks, ahead of the creation of the European Central Bank (ECB) in May and the potential volume of gold to be held by the ECB,'' Rinehimer added. At the Chicago Board of Trade, wheat price closed slightly higher on concerns that wet, cool weather in the winter wheat belt might lead to disease problems as the crop begins to emerge from dormancy this spring. Winter wheat is planted in the Fall in the High Plains states and Ohio River Valley and is harvested by July. ''There's a danger that we could lose some acres and also there's the thought of disease problems,'' said Dale Gustafson, analyst for Smith Barney. Wheat for May delivery closed 2-1/4 cents a bushel higher at $3.40-1/4.