Headlines

  • Gold fails to stay above 1000 $/oz

  • Sad economic outlook weights on base metals


Brent and Distillates

Commodities


Commodities

Crude oil fell on Monday, weighed down by persistent worries about the health of the global economy, data showing an 8 % fall in January oil imports in China and after U.S. stocks slumped.

China's crude imports in January fell 8% from a year earlier to 12.82 mln.t as data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday confirming earlier data.

Global storage of crude oil in supertankers has risen to a high of at least 80 mln.b. despite OPEC's oil supply cuts, Frontline, the world's largest tanker company, said on Monday.

OPEC is very likely to decide on a new production cut at its next meeting scheduled in March, Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil said on Sunday. "It is very likely that OPEC will take a decision on March 15 to further reduce output and help stabilize prices, which are falling”, he said. OPEC has already agreed on cuts totalling 4.2 mln.b./d since last September. However, analysts at the Centre for Global Energy Studies said Opec would find it “extremely difficult to push prices back up to where they would like to see them, much less keep them there”.

OPEC oil supply was expected to drop sharply also in February, declining to 27.6 mln.b./d, down 1.1 mln.b./d from 28.7 mln. in January.

Kuwait's oil output will fall as much as 100 kb/d below its OPEC target this month while oilfield maintenance is carried out.

Barclays Capital has cut its 2009 average Brent price forecast to 60$/b from 71$. Barclays is forecasting that global oil consumption will decline 1.25 mln.b/d this year, above the 1mln.b/d drop expected by the International Energy Agency.

India's Reliance Industries will import about 25% less crude oil on contract from Iran in 2009 in favour of cheaper oil from outside the Middle East

China's state-owned refiners will add nearly 1 mln.b/d of new capacity by year-end, expanding far faster than oil demand and potentially driving a final stake through the independent refining industry.

Weekly U.S. petroleum data was forecast to show crude oil inventories rose in the week to Feb. 20 as crude imports rose and refinery demand dipped, a preliminary Reuters poll of seven analysts showed yesterday.