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The Commodities Report

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Gold creeps towards last month's record

Tue, Nov 3 2009, 10:59 GMT
by KBC Market Research Desk

KBC Bank

Headlines 

• U.S. and China’s statistics support crude oil price 

• Gold creeps towards last month's record 

• Copper remains below 6500 $/t

  
  

Brent and Distillates

On Monday crude rose above retracing some of the previous session's drop, as bullish manufacturing data from U.S. and China helped to allay fears about the pace of the rebound in global energy demand. However, analysts expect persisting concerns about the economic outlook would limit oil's gains.
Today crude continues its way up and seems to stabilize around the 80$/b level.

Global oil products stored at sea rose by nearly 15mln.b to 76 mln.b by the end of October from levels last month, according to ICAP Shipping. Weak demand due to the global economic recession has inflated oil product stocks, particularly distillates.

Russia held its lead as the world's top oil producer, posting a new post-Soviet high of 10.04mln.b/d of crude extracted in October, Energy Ministry data showed.

Saudi Aramco said it has raised the official selling price for its benchmark Saudi Light crude oil to U.S. clients in December by 85 USc/b to a discount of 3.75$ below U.S. light crude WTI. Saudi Aramco also raised the price of Arab Light to customers in Asia by 35 USc to Oman/Dubai average plus 0.50$/b.
Saudi Aramco also announced that effective from January, all its crude sales into the United States would be priced off the Argus sour crude index.

Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni dashed hopes for an imminent turnaround for the oil industry, saying sluggish economic recovery was weighing on energy demand and prices. The three posted big drops in quarterly earnings after crude oil and natural gas prices decreased and refining margins were squeezed.

Iraq's Oil Ministry said on Thursday it will sign a final deal on Nov. 3 with BP and China's CNPC to develop its biggest oilfield, Rumaila, the nation's first major oil pact since the U.S. invasion in 2003. However, some lawmakers in parliament object to the contract, because they feel they have a right to authorise or reject such agreements.

OPEC seaborne oil exports, excluding Angola and Ecuador, will rise 40 kb/d in the four weeks to Nov. 14, an analyst who tracks future shipments said on Thursday. Exports from the group will rise to 22.68 mln.b/d on average from 22.64 mln.b/d in the four weeks to Oct. 17, UK consultancy Oil Movements said in its latest weekly estimate.

Venezuela's plan to boost oil output by 900 kb/d in partnership with Russia and China faces major stumbling blocks in tight funding and a lack of technical expertise in drilling for heavier grades of oil and bringing it to market. Delays in producing barrels from the oil rich Orinoco belt may further reduce government revenues for the country, where petroleum funds bankroll the social programs.

India's domestic oil product sales in September rose 0.8 % from a year earlier to 10.7 mln.t, led by higher sales of petrol and diesel, government data showed. Crude oil imports were at 11.342 mln.t or 2.77 mln.b/d.

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Published on  Tue, Nov 3 2009, 12:36 GMT