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| Home Front: Economy |
| Oil slides below $53 on profit taking |
| 2005-03-11 |
| EFL and non-trader information. Oil prices slid below $53 a barrel on Friday, extending the previous day's heavy losses, as funds took profits from a 12 percent gain in the past month. A big stock build in the United States encouraged selling, although losses were limited by a weaker dollar and longer-term worries that energy demand growth this year would outpace supply. Wednesday's U.S. government report showed another build in US. crude oil inventories last week -- the fourth in a row -- taking supply to the highest level in eight months. Strong global demand and a late-winter cold snap helped send oil prices soaring this week to a four-month high of $55.65 a barrel, 2 cents shy of October's all-time peak. But OPEC oil producers are keeping a close watch over rising stocks in developed countries ahead of the usual second-quarter slowdown, when temperatures warm up. "OPEC is keen to prevent a rise in world stocks. So if anything, decreasing, rather than increasing, output is their preferred option," commodities strategis David Thurtell said in a report. More support was seen in China's February crude oil imports, which bounced back from a 14-month low in January, a sign that demand in the world's second-biggest consumer was not slowing. Analysts had been counting on a rebound in imports after January data showed a steep 24 percent fall, the first annual drop for two and a half years, casting a clll help keep prices high this year. On the supply side, top exporter Saudi Arabia has told Asian customers it would keep oil supplies steady in April, a sign that OPEC may leave output unchanged at net week's meeting in Iran. Kuwait also plans to keep crude supply to Japan unchanged for April, traders said on Friday. But OPEC oil to be shippd in the four weeks to March 26 fell 130,000 bpd to 23.93 million bpd, hit by a slump in spot loadings from the Gulf, a leading oil shipping analyst said. I'm sure somebody will understand this last bit, but it's beyond my little brain, I'm afraid. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |