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Oil rises towards $65 on signs glut easing, Iran doubts

LONDON Oil rose towards $65 a barrel on Wednesday before a U.S. government report expected to show domestic crude inventories fell for an eighth week, a sign that a supply glut is easing. The industry group American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a drop in U.S. crude stocks, ahead of Wednesday’s official data. Doubts over the likelihood of a deal next week on Iran’s nuclear work also supported prices. Brent crude LCOc1 rose 30 cents to $64.75 a barrel by 0836 GMT. U.S. crude CLc1 gained 39 cents to $61.40. Both contracts made gains on Tuesday. "There could be some support from the APIs," said Tony Machacek, an oil broker at Jefferies Bache in London. "We’re probably going to be testing $66 to the upside," he added, referring to Brent. A steady decline in U.S. crude stockpiles from a record high earlier this year has been supporting prices […]

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Oil prices fall on oversupply concerns, weak economic data

SINGAPORE Oil prices fell on Tuesday on worries over a global glut, while surveys showing a contraction in manufacturing activity in China and Japan also dragged on market sentiment. An expected drawdown in U.S. crude stocks, however, put a floor under prices. Brent crude was down 5 cents at $63.29 a barrel as of 0651 GMT, after closing the previous session up 32 cents. U.S. crude for August delivery fell 14 cents to $60.24 a barrel. The July contract, which expired on Monday, closed up 7 cents at $59.68 a barrel. "I think the Japan and China PMI figures are weighing on the market," said Jonathan Barratt, chief investment officer at Sydney’s Ayers Alliance. China and Japan are Asia’s two biggest oil importers. The HSBC/Markit Flash China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged up to 49.6 in June, a three-month high, from 49.2 in May, but remained below the […]

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Natural Gas Price Falls on Cool Weather Forecasts

By Timothy Puko Prices of natural gas futures retreated on Tuesday, as weather forecasts call for mild summer temperatures across large parts of the country. Long-term forecasts from both Commodity Weather Group LLC and WeatherBELL Analytics LLC show repeated cool fronts sweeping over parts of the Rockies, the Midwest and the East Coast for at least the next six weeks. Commodity Weather Group made its summer outlook public on Tuesday, a day after sending it to clients, showing a forecast adjustment for August and September that took most of the eastern states and the large parts of the Rockies from normal temperatures to below-average temperatures. Limited hot weather makes people less likely to use air conditioners and to ramp up demand for gas-fired power. Forecasts for cool weather had already sent prices down sharply on Monday. And near-term updates around noon on Tuesday also eliminated some previous signs of […]

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Gas prices start edging lower

Resolution of refinery issues in part leads to a slight decline in retail gasoline prices for U.S. consumers. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI WASHINGTON, June 23 (UPI) — The price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States is edging lower as wholesale prices decline and refinery issues ebb, surveys find. Motor club AAA reports a national average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at $2.79, about a penny less than last week. An increase in demand, which in part was driven by lower prices at the pump, along with refinery issues led to a steady rise in gasoline prices nationwide. Tuesday’s price is about 5 cents higher than one month ago. Around half of all retail fueling stations in the country were selling gasoline at or below the $2 per gallon mark earlier this year. "Pump prices in recent days have stabilized or […]

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What a Difference a Year Makes as Oil Outlook Turns Upside Down

Oil’s One-Year Mirror Image The oil market’s view of the future has flipped on its head in the past year, as fears of supply disruptions turned into concerns of a glut. This chart shows the difference one year can make. Last June, crude was above $107 a barrel. Traders were willing to pay $10 more for oil right away than for barrels delivered a year later. Now, with prices swirling around $60, buyers need to get a $3 discount. “We’ve seen a huge shift since this time last year,” Michael D. Cohen, an analyst at Barclays Plc in New York, said by phone. “The perception now is that stockpiles will continue to grow through the end of the year.” Investors back then were concerned that Islamic State’s military victories threatened to cut off supply from Iraq and that sanctions on Russia would slow output. Neither of those predictions came […]

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Kuwait oil minister says oil price drop unlikely

KUWAIT Kuwait’s oil minister said on Tuesday he expected oil prices to continue rising, predicting gains in the final quarter of 2015 on the back of global growth. "All indicators point to an improvement in prices … today we have reached the stage where a fall is difficult, a fall has now become unlikely," Ali Saleh al-Omair told reporters. Omair also said costs for the country’s al-Zour refinery were expected to increase by around 1 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($3.31 billion) pushing up total cost to more than 5 billion dinars. A Kuwait National Petroleum Company spokesman had said on Monday the start-up of the refinery would be delayed as the company was seeking more financing on the back of rising construction costs. The 615,000 barrel per day oil refinery, originally planned more than a decade ago, would be the biggest in the Middle East, but the project has been […]

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Stiffens His Position on Nuclear Talks

OPEN Photographs Photographs: Stress and Hope in Tehran TEHRAN — Iran ’s supreme leader appeared to stiffen his hard line Tuesday on concessions in any nuclear agreement with foreign powers, one week before the deadline for completing an accord. In a speech broadcast live on Iranian state television, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he would not abide any freeze on Iran’s sensitive nuclear work for long periods, ruled out foreign inspections of Iranian military sites and demanded that all sanctions imposed on Iran be lifted with immediate effect once an accord is signed. The ayatollah, who has the final word on nuclear matters, has repeatedly said he supports the negotiations. But his public statements have become increasingly unyielding as the talks between Iran and six major powers, including the United States, head toward a June 30 deadline. His remarks on Tuesday appeared to be the strongest yet. […]

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Retaking Ramadi: The Dilemmas of the Anbar Campaign

Islamic State Militants Approaching Ramadi On May 17th, Islamic State militants seized the key Iraqi city of Ramadi. The capital of Anbar province, its population of around 800,000 inhabitants makes it second only to Mosul among the cities controlled by IS. The fall of Ramadi was a sharp reversal for the Iraqi government, coming only weeks after the successful capture of Tikrit from Islamic State militants, and cast new doubts on the effectiveness of the Baghdad government’s ability to successfully roll back the Islamic State. Criticism and blame was quick to follow. The governor of Anbar province blamed the central government in Baghdad for the lack of promised reinforcements. Government officials, off the record, blamed the lack of adequate American air support, citing the fact that only about 36 strikes were carried out by U.S. led coalition forces. The Pentagon blamed The Iraqi Army unwillingness to fight noting that […]

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Seems to Pull Back on Nuclear Talks

Photo Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in March, appeared to undercut several agreements his negotiators have reached with the West. Credit Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader, via Associated Press TEHRAN — With exactly a week left before the deadline for a final agreement to limit Iran ’s nuclear program , the country’s supreme leader appeared to undercut several of the central agreements his negotiators have already reached with the West. In a speech broadcast live on Iran state television, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , demanded that most sanctions be lifted before Tehran has dismantled part of its nuclear infrastructure and before international inspectors verify that the country is beginning to meet its commitments. He also ruled out any freeze on Iran’s sensitive nuclear enrichment for as long as a decade, as a preliminary understanding announced in April stipulates, and he repeated his refusal to allow inspections of […]

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For IOCs seeking cash flow, KRG local market falls short

A topping plant in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. (PATRICK OSGOOD/Iraq Oil Report) Along a bumpy dirt track to the west of Erbil, near the town of Gwer, tanker trucks trundle to a tiny, makeshift oil refinery – one of the roughly 150 "topping plants" that now underpin the hopes of foreign oil companies looking to monetize their investments in Kurdistan.The centerpiece is a steel boiler corroded with rust along its welding seams. From one side, a maze of cooling pipes zigzags through a pit of dirty water. A rudimentary distiller separates fuels into six, three-meter-high … This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple