Next commodity report will be published on Wednesday May 13 2009.
Headlines
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Gold remains above 900$/oz
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Equity markets gains support gold price
Brent and Distillates
On Tuesday U.S. crude oil prices in intraday trade hit their highest levels of the year before dipping slightly in the afternoon after renewed worries about the financial sector.
However, yesterday oil markets extended previous gains when a falling number of U.S. job losses and U.S. inventory data brightened hopes for an economic revival.
Traders also continued to discuss whether OPEC might cut supplies further at the next meeting of the cartel on May 28.
U.S. crude oil inventories rose less than expected last week as an uptick in demand from domestic refineries coming out of spring maintenance offset rising import levels, according to a government report released on Wednesday.
Commercial crude stockpiles rose 600 kb in the week ended May 1 to a new 19-year high of 375.3 mln.b, the EIA said in its weekly report. On the contrary petrol inventories fell 200 kb, confounding the consensus forecast for a rise of 700 kb.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs warned that crude prices may pull back to 45 $ due to weak fundamentals in the U.S. oil market, where demand growth was expected to stay weak for the rest of the year. But Goldman also reiterated its forecast for oil prices to hit 65 $ by the end of 2009 after saying that the global industrial cycle was stabilising, setting the stage for a return to positive economic growth in the second half of the year.
Venezuela's Congress on Tuesday gave initial approval for state seizure of a group of oil service companies, upping the ante in a months-long dispute over billions of dollars in unpaid debts. The legislation would extend President Hugo Chavez's control over the OPEC nation's oil industry.
Saudi Arabia will meet an end-of-June target for raising its oil output capacity to 12.5 mln.b/d, a Saudi Aramco executive said. Nevertheless, the country is pumping below 8 mln.b/d and is unlikely to increase that production as world supply continues to outpace demand.
Russia expects to start crude shipments from Kozmino oil terminal on the Pacific Coast in December. Kozmino is the last point for the new export oil pipeline across East Siberia towards the Pacific Ocean. During the first phase of shipments, the terminal will have capacity to load 150 kt tankers, and, after construction of a second loading terminal, Kozmino will have the capability to receive 300 kt tankers.
Royal Dutch Shell plans to sell 70 % of its French fuel stations and cut by a third its 1,200 person work force in France.
