Headlines
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Greenback gains send gold down
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Higher London stockpiles and bleak economic outlook weight on base metals
Brent and Distillates
On Wednesday oil prices were mixed with Brent slightly higher and WTI slightly lower after the latest U.S. weekly inventories data.
U.S. crude stocks rose 1.2mln.b, below the consensus forecast for an increase of 2.2mln.b. However, there was a substantial increase in crude inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI. The rise of 800 kb to 33 mln.b leaves stocks there at the highest level since records started in 2004. Cushing’s maximum storage is about 42.2mln.b, but only 80%, i.e.about 34mln.b, is its operable capacity, according to Platts.
The main surprise of the inventories data was a huge jump in distillate stocks (including heating oil), which rose 6.4mln.b above the consensus for an increase of 1.1mln.b. Also gasoline stocks rose 2.1mln.b above the consensus forecast for an increase of 1.1mln.b.
Norwegian energy group StatoilHydro said on Wednesday that it expects production from its current oil and gas fields off Norway to decline by 5% per year in 2009-2012. A year ago, the company had seen the underlying annual decline in production from its Norway fields in the 2008-2012 period at 4%.
Venezuela's President, Hugo Chavez, said that OPEC would make more cuts to global crude production if they are needed to defend oil prices.
Investments of as much as 26,000 mld.$ may be needed over the next 22 years in developing the world’s oil industry, the International Energy Agency expects.
China will lower fuel prices to reflect the decline in global oil prices. The gasoline price will be reduced by 140 yuan (20.5$) a ton and diesel by 160 yuan a ton starting January 15, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its Web site.
China's fuel oil imports in December surged 115.5% from a year earlier as buyers rushed to ship in the fuel before a fuel tax hike took effect on Jan. 1. Preliminary data from the General Administration of Customs showed that the country imported 2.64 mln.t of fuel oil, 90 % higher than in November.
Although in 2008 Lukoil reduced oil production volumes by 1.3% y/y to 90.2 mln.t, some positive trends on the opening of new oilfields began to become a serious driver for maintaining Lukoil’s productive output, the company announced at a meeting, where it summed up operating results in 2008 and outlined plans for 2009.
