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Oil off 2015 highs on Iraq export record, strong dollar

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices eased off 2015 highs on Friday after Iraq said its crude oil exports hit a record in April, and on pressure from a stronger dollar. Both Brent and U.S. crude settled well above intraday lows, supported by data showing another slip in drilling rig activity and news of a shut gasoline-making unit in Venezuela. Venezuela’s 645,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Amuay refinery has halted its catalytic cracking unit for maintenance, helping U.S. RBOB gasoline RBc1 and ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) HOc1 futures post higher settlements on the first day of trading with June contracts in front-month position. June Brent LCOc1 crude fell 32 cents to settle at $66.46 a barrel, after falling to $65.52 and having earlier matched Thursday’s 2015 peak of $66.93. Brent jumped 21 percent in April. U.S. June crude CLc1 fell 48 cents to settle at $59.15, after hitting a 2015 high […]

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Oil markets start May on down note

Some sector activity data indicate a recovery may be on the horizon for a weakened crude oil market, though prices still suppressed. Photo by David Gaylor/Shutterstock NEW YORK, May 1 (UPI) — Mixed activity reports in the exploration and production sector helped push crude oil prices lower in a light trading day that started the month of May. North Dakota, a state at the heart of the U.S. oil boom, reported a modest increase in rig activity for the week, adding two to its state-wide count. On the whole, however, the North American rig count, a key barometer of the health of the exploration and production side of the energy sector, is depressed. Baker Hughes reports the number of rigs in service in the United States and Canada fell by a total of 23, or 2.2 percent, between April 17 and April 24. Year-on-year, the North American rig count […]

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Oil Slips After Strong April Rally

By Nicole Friedman Oil prices retreated from 2015 highs Friday as the dollar strengthened and traders assessed the still oversupplied global crude market. Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled down 48 cents, or 0.8%, at $59.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose 3.5% on the week. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $66.46 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. The contract gained 1.8% this week. The dollar rose against other major currencies Friday on positive U.S. economic data. Oil is priced in dollars, so a stronger dollar makes oil less affordable to buyers using foreign currencies. Oil prices have surged in recent weeks after falling to six-year lows in March as traders bet that the global glut of crude would soon shrink due to stronger demand and reduced spending on new production. But some analysts caution that the rally […]

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Gas prices mirror crude oil’s rise

Consumers watching retail gasoline prices rise along with crude oil, though price at the pump is still far lower than last year, AAA says. File Photo by UPI/Gary C. Caskey. WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) — The national average price for a gallon of gas in the United States, mirroring crude oil prices, has risen at the fastest seasonal rate since 2012, AAA said. AAA reports a national average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at $2.60 for Friday, the first day of May. That’s up two cents, or three quarters of a percent, from Thursday and 57 cents, or 28 percent, higher than in late January. AAA spokesman Avery Ash said that, while it’s normal for gasoline prices to climb as summer approaches, the rate of increase is faster than in the past. The national average price for Friday is the highest since Dec. 12 and […]

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Natural Gas Hits Five-Week High

By Nicole Friedman NEW YORK–Natural-gas prices extended their gains to a new five-week high on Friday as traders who had bet on lower prices closed out those wagers. Natural gas for June delivery settled up 2.5 cents, or 0.9%, to $2.776 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since March 24. Prices rose 8.1% for the week. The rally began Tuesday but picked up steam on Thursday after U.S. government data showed that stockpiles grew less than expected last week. Robust production had kept prices subdued in recent months, especially as warmer weather reduced demand for gas-powered indoor heating. But the smaller-than-expected addition to stockpiles "spooked some traders who were expecting massive injections due to oversupply during the month of May," said Aaron Calder, an analyst at Gelber & Associates, in a note. "Traders saw the cracks in the wall of production […]

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Oil Turnaround Punishes Investors — Energy Journal

Here’s your morning jolt of news, insight and analysis on the global energy business. Send us tips, suggestions and complaints : [email protected] Sign up for this newsletter : http://on.wsj.com/EnergyJournalSignup A view of a Chevron refinery on March 3, 2015 in Richmond, California. U.S. gas prices have surged in the last month, which has been bad news for some investors. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images OIL PRICE WAS CATALYST FOR REVERSALS Investors in financial markets who had bet oil prices would keep falling and the U.S. dollar would keep climbing saw their trades backfire in April, Tommy Stubbington and Christian Berthelsen report. The U.S. benchmark crude oil price ended up soaring 25% after falling 11% in the first three months of the year. Quick cutbacks by U.S. shale-oil producers and a slowdown in U.S. growth were a couple of the surprise factors behind the turnabout across stock, bond, currency and commodity markets. […]

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Forward oil prices anchor around $75: Kemp

LONDON (Reuters) – Market participants expect the price of Brent to average around $75 per barrel through the rest of the decade, not much above the current level. Spot Brent prices have risen around $20 per barrel from their mid-January low, from $46 to $66, an increase of more than 40 percent. Over the same period, however, futures prices for oil delivered at the end of 2017 have increased just $4.50 per barrel and remain semi-fixed a little over $70. As spot prices have risen, the slope of the forward curve has become flatter, ensuring prices for 2017 and beyond are almost unchanged ( link.reuters.com/jyr64w ). Analysts tend to cite the curve selectively, quoting it when it coincides with their own view and ignoring it when the curve is at variance with their forecasts. In any case, the forward curve is a notoriously poor predictor. Back in June 2014, […]

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Little chance Big Oil’s refining boom will last for long

LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s top oil companies can expect only limited solace from refining for the rest of the year, even as the often-troubled segment proved valuable in the face of sinking oil prices. Overcapacity in the sector previously made it the bane of integrated oil majors such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Total and Eni. But the situation was reversed by weak crude prices, so that combined profits for the oil majors from refining and trading represented 60 percent of total earnings in the first quarter of 2015, compared with 18 percent last year, according to Reuters calculations. In contrast, companies without refining divisions felt the brunt of the oil price collapse, with Norway’s Statoil for instance swinging to surprise net loss. Refining and trading is now expected to cushion companies’ results in the second quarter, albeit less so after oil prices gained more […]

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Car bombs kill 21 people in Iraq; EU warns of donor fatigue

Mideast Iraq Islamic State BAGHDAD (AP) — The head of the European Union’s humanitarian aid department warned on Thursday that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating rapidly while the world is preoccupied with crises elsewhere. Shortly after Jean-Louis de Brouwer sounded the stark warning, a wave of car bombs targeting public places after nightfall in Baghdad and in a town just south of the Iraqi capital killed a total of 21 people and wounded scores of others. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks but Baghdad and its surroundings have seen near-daily bombings, mostly targeting the country’s majority Shiites or security forces even as authorities struggle to win back territory captured by the Islamic State group. Earlier in the day, De Brouwer told The Associated Press that the number of displaced people in Iraq has quadrupled in the last year and shows no signs of decreasing. "The worst […]

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Strait of Hormuz Once Again at Center of U.S.-Iran Strife

The Strait of Hormuz , the slender waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world and is a critical conduit in the global oil supply chain, has again become a point of contention for Iran and the United States — just as they are trying to reach a nuclear accord. Responding to Iran ’s seizure at gunpoint of a cargo ship that was traversing the strait this week, the United States Navy on Thursday began deploying about a dozen warships there to protect American vessels from possible seizure or harassment. The seized vessel was owned by the Danish company Maersk and registered in the Marshall Islands. The American decision was seen as a signal to Iran, which historically has regarded the strait, an international waterway, as part of its sphere of influence. Iranian and United States forces battled in the strait 27 years ago. More […]

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