www.csua.org/u/juv -> www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aKQ.rkqPkHsU&refer=us
State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos, the third-largest supplier of crude to the US, halted about 600,000 barrels a day of output as a storm in the Gulf of Mexico closed platforms, spokesman Carlos Ramirez said in Mexico City. You can't rule out a scenario of $100 a barrel,'' said Hannes Loacker, an analyst at Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich AG in Vienna. The flaring of disputes between Turkey and Iraq over Kurdish militants, as well as over Iran's nuclear program, prompted price records last week. Gale Force Gale-force winds from a weather system stretching from Florida to the Yucatan peninsula are whipping up 8-foot waves in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the US National Hurricane Center. That's pretty strong for the Gulf,'' said David Salmon, a forecaster at Weather Derivatives Inc. The company shut output of 200,000 barrels at noon New York time yesterday and was planning to idle wells that produce a further 400,000 barrels by midnight in Mexico, company spokesman Ramirez said. The closure happened in the Bay of Campeche, the same area where 21 workers died after another storm last week caused an oil rig to hit a platform. Risk Premium' The size of the risk premium related to hurricanes and geopolitics is really huge,'' said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist with CFC Seymour Ltd. Crude is being supported by declines in the US dollar, said Raiffeisen's Loacker. A weaker dollar makes commodities priced using the US currency such as oil cheaper to foreign buyers. The dollar fell to its lowest against the euro on speculation the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this week as a US housing slump threatens economic growth. Oil prices have passed the previous all-time inflation- adjusted record reached in 1981, when Iran cut exports. Wider Attacks Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Oct. Turkey said it bombed PKK units in northern Iraq last week and sent troops across the border in pursuit of the militants. The US wants Iran to halt uranium enrichment that it suspects is a cover for developing nuclear weapons. Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators decreased their net-long position in New York crude-oil futures in the week ended Oct. Speculative long positions, or bets prices will rise, outnumbered short positions by 60,026 contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Washington-based commission said in its Commitments of Traders report. Net-long positions fell by 27,972 contracts, or 32 percent, from a week earlier. That means some people sold futures for a profit,'' said CFC Seymour's Kowalczyk.
|