 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
London (AFP) April 12, 2010 Oil prices diverged on Monday after spiking early on in reaction to a weaker dollar and signs of improved Chinese demand for crude, analysts said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, fell 32 cents to 84.60 dollars a barrel after rallying above 85 dollars early on Monday. Brent North Sea crude for May was up 12 cents to 84.95 dollars a barrel in afternoon London trading. Explaining the reason behind Monday's initial spike in prices, Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst David Moore said: "The euro has risen against the US dollar ... and the Chinese trade data gave markets a more positive view on oil demand." A weaker US currency tends to benefit dollar-priced oil because it becomes cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies, and therefore stimulates demand and prices. The euro surged against the dollar and yen on Monday after the 16 nations using the single currency unveiled a 30-billion-euro lifeline for debt-hit Greece. Oil prices meanwhile also received a boost from a report on Saturday showing that oil imports grew in China, the world's second-largest energy consumer, by 29 percent in March compared with a year earlier. China imported 4.98 million barrels a day, according to preliminary data from the General Administration of Customs, while net imports were 20.8 million metric tonnes. "Oil prices are buoyed by the strength in Chinese" data, said Barclays Capital analyst Amrita Sen. "We expect Chinese oil demand growth to be the greatest contributor to global oil demand growth this year at 0.62 million barrels a day, just shy of the 0.9 mb/d year-on-year growth achieved at the peak of the Chinese oil demand shock in 2004," said Sen. Oil prices had risen to 18-month highs last week after climbing above 87 dollars a barrel as investors bet on better demand prospects amid signs of a strengthening economic recovery. But on Thursday and Friday, the market pared its gains, as traders fretted over Greece and a disappointing US jobs report that reminded investors of the rocky road to economic recovery. The US Department of Labor said new claims for unemployment insurance benefits rose by 18,000 to 460,000 in the week ending April 3. The rise surprised most analysts who had expected new claims to fall to 435,000. burs-bcp/nh
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Africa should harness Chinese oil-interest: analystCape Town (AFP) March 16, 2010 African states should harness Chinese interest as Beijing's demand for commodities drives growth on the continent and fuels capital investments, an energy conference heard on Tuesday. China's investment model in Africa, characterised by long-term capital concessional financing, was a developmental "no-brainer," Martyn Davies, head of the Frontier Advisory firm, told the Oil and Gas Africa ex ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook