Headlines
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Higher equity markets send crude price up
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Gold slightly lower after hitting multi-month highs
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U.S. and Chinese data increase base metals prices across the board
Brent and Distillates
Crude-oil mostly gained Wednesday, helped by improving data on U.S. and Chinese manufacturing and rising equities markets that overcame fears about increasing oil supplies.
The department's Energy Information Administration reported crude-oil inventories rose by 3.4 mln.b in the week ended August 27. Gasoline stocks posted a modest decline, falling by 200 kb and distillates fell by 700 kb. Combined inventories of oil and oil products are now at the highest levels in 27 years. The EIA also said gasoline demand for the last week in August fell to its lowest level since 2004.
Kazakhstan will double its crude oil export duty to 40$/t from Jan. 1, 2011, Finance Minister Bolat Zhamishev said.
Supply from the 11 members of OPEC with output targets, all except Iraq, averaged 26.83 mln.b/d last month, down from 26.95 mln. in July, according to the survey of oil companies, OPEC officials and analysts.
Ecuador has signed a 1bln.$ loan deal with China for oil and infrastructure projects, the South American nation's Finance Ministry said. Ecuador, a petroleum exporter holding the rotating presidency of OPEC this year, said the four-year loan from China has a 6 % annual interest rate.
Russian oil output declined by 0.8% in August after it hit a record high in July and stayed above 10 mln.b/d for the twelfth consecutive month, the Energy Ministry said today. Oil output in August dropped to 10.06 mln.b/d, from 10.14 mln.b/d in July.
Russian oil refining runs rose by 2.6% on an average daily basis in July versus June as Rosneft and LUKOIL plants, as well as Moscow refinery, boosted throughput after maintenance, according to official data. Energy Ministry data showed that Russian refineries processed 5.07 mln.b/d of oil in July, up from 4.94 mln.b/d in June.
The exploration and production arm of Malaysian state oil company Petronas has discovered oil and gas in an area off the coast of northern Vietnam, a Vietnamese state-backed newspaper reported on Wednesday.
A federal judge in New Orleans on Wednesday rejected the U.S. government's request to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its 6-month deepwater drilling moratorium. U.S. District said in a 20-page ruling that the government's amended moratorium offered "no substantial changes" from the first one.
