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Russia Acknowledges Economy Recovery Slow in Coming

By Andrey Ostroukh MOSCOW–The Russian government acknowledged on Thursday that the country’s economy is going to take longer to recover than it previously expected, weighed down by the slump in the value of the ruble. Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev said Thursday that the economy, also battered by a drop in oil prices and Western sanctions, will return to growth no earlier than in late 2015 or next year. The latest forecast from the finance ministry follows a recent drop in prices for oil and gas, Russia’s key exports. Oil prices have tumbled to levels not seen since March 2009 with prices of other industrial commodities on which the country is reliant, such as nickel, also on the slide. Despite calls from many quarters to diversify away from commodities, Russia has made little progress over the years. Previously, the finance ministry said the economy might start recovering in […]

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Russia may produce 700 million tonnes of oil, export 300 bcm of gas to China

Russia can increase its oil production to as much as 700 million tonnes of oil per year (14 million barrels of oil per day) and export 300 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually, Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin said on Friday. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum, Sechin added that production costs for Russia’s largest oil fields were lower than for its global peers. A weak ruble is offsetting low oil prices for Russian oil producers. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Richard Pullin )

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Russia Energy Minister: ‘Fair’ Oil Price Seen at $50-$70 a Barrel

By Andrey Ostroukh MOSCOW–The global oil market is set to stabilize by the year end, with oil prices seen hovering at what seems to be "fair levels" between $50 and $70 per barrel, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday. Speaking on state television channel Rossiya 24, Mr. Novak said oil prices won’t return to levels of $100 per barrel in the mid-term. He said though low oil prices have a negative impact on many countries, the world’s oil producers won’t cut production. After years of buoyant commodity prices, Russia is now coping with a rapid slide in the price of oil, its key export. Volatility in the oil market is having an adverse impact on the Russian economy, as it causes sharp swings in the ruble rate, which, in turn, dents investment activity and consumer demand. Presidential aide Andrey Belousov said earlier on Friday, he hopes oil prices […]

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Oil down on stock builds, equity rally aids

Pump jacks and pipes are seen on an oil field near Bakersfield on a foggy day, California January 17, 2015. Crude oil prices softened on Thursday after a surprise build in U.S. inventory levels and on a firm dollar, although stronger equity markets helped support commodities. A respite from bearish economic news in China, closed for public holidays for the rest of the week, also helped stabilize oil prices that have seen volatile swings over the past two weeks. Brent was 20 cents lower at $50.30 a barrel by 0840 GMT, having gained 94 cents in the previous session. U.S. crude was just 5 cents lower at $46.20 a barrel, up from the day’s low of $45.65, after settling up 84 cents on Wednesday. Olivier Jakob, managing director of PetroMatrix, said the market was quietening down after the extreme moves, with public holidays in the world’s two largest oil […]

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Oil Rangebound with U.S. Jobs Data in Focus

Crude-oil futures were rangebound in Asian trade Thursday with Chinese markets closed for the remainder of the week and after global market sentiment stabilized in the previous session. There was some downward pressure on oil prices from a larger-than-forecast increase in weekly U.S. oil inventories and a strong U.S. dollar, but steadier global markets appeared to have stemmed losses for the time being. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at $46.00 a barrel at 0331 GMT, down $0.25 in the Globex electronic session. October Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.18 to $50.32 a barrel. Most Asian markets were higher on Thursday following a rally in U.S. stocks overnight. Markets in China and Hong Kong were however closed Thursday for a national holiday. The greenback is broadly stronger ahead Friday’s U.S. non-farm payrolls report on expectations that the […]

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U.S. crude oil stocks rise as refinery runs fall, imports jump

A motorist pumps fuel into his vehicle at JJ’s Express Gas Plus station in Phoenix gas station in Phoenix, Arizona August 10, 2011. U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose unexpectedly last week as refinery throughput fell for a fourth week and imports jumped, while gasoline stocks fell, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose 4.7 million barrels to 455.4 million in the week to Aug. 28, the biggest one-week rise since April, compared with analysts’ expectations for stocks to remain unchanged. U.S. crude imports rose 656,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 7.4 million bpd. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery point for the U.S. crude futures fell 388,000 barrels to 57.3 million barrels, EIA said. Analysts expect inventories at Cushing to rise this autumn as refiners shut for maintenance, potentially exceeding a record 62.2 million barrels reached this past spring. "While there is […]

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Asian consumers missing out on full benefit of crude oil slump: Russell

A customer gets the tank of her car filled at a Sinopec gas station in Qingdao, Shandong province September 11, 2014. Conventional wisdom is that falling oil prices provide significant economic stimulus, but many Asian countries appear to be missing out on much of the benefit. While Brent crude has dropped 51.7 percent in the past 12 months, the retail prices of gasoline and diesel in major countries across the region haven’t fallen by anything like as much. China, the world’s largest crude importer, dropped the retail ceiling price of gasoline by 125 yuan ($19.64) a tonne from Wednesday, taking it to 6,830 yuan a tonne. The retail ceiling for diesel was lowered by 120 yuan a tonne to 5,790 yuan, the sixth straight price cut since June. However, since September last year, the retail ceiling for gasoline has dropped 24 percent and by 29 percent for diesel. While […]

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Oil market takes a walk on the wild side (again): Kemp

Offshore oil platforms are seen at the Bouri Oil Field off the coast of Libya August 3, 2015. Crude oil prices have been on a rollercoaster over the last four trading sessions that has seen some of the highest volatility in a quarter of a century. The market is providing a brutal reminder of the extreme side of commodity pricing, leaving many analysts and traders struggling to identify a safe strategy. Front-month Brent crude futures rose by more than 10 percent on Thursday, 5 percent on Friday and 8 percent on Monday, before plunging by more than 8 percent on Tuesday. To put that in context, the percentage daily price movements were 4.6 standard deviations away from the mean on Thursday, 2.4 standard deviations on Friday, 3.7 on Monday and 3.8 on Tuesday. If price changes followed a normal distribution, a move of 3.5 standard deviations should occur only […]

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Analysis – Eastern Libya struggles to attract oil buyers in row with Tripoli

Pipes are pictured at the El Sharara oilfield December 3, 2014. Libya’s official government is struggling to woo oil majors in a bid to control oil revenue and force a rival Tripoli government into a U.N. peace deal because foreign clients are wary of breaking with the established state energy firm in the capital. The battle over Libya’s oil resources is at the heart of a conflict between two governments and parliaments allied to a host of armed groups fighting for power four years after an uprising ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi. The internationally recognised government, based in the east since losing Tripoli a year ago, wants oil firms to discuss purchase contracts with its own officials instead of the state oil firm based in the capital, which is held by a rival group. So far foreign oil buyers have sought to ignore the conflict by continuing to pay through […]

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OPEC May Recognize ‘Lower For Longer’ Pushes Their Prices, Too

Raising the specter of a global financial crisis, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) appear poised for a new approach in dealing with oil-producing nations outside of the cartel. Or at least, one that’s different from the tactic taken last year. Looking to flex its global muscle as the predominant oil producer in the world, OPEC leader Saudi Arabia refused to cut its production and after Chinese demand waned, the move proved to the global economy the Keynesian theory that oversupply makes for discounted prices. Within 10 months, oil sold per barrel for less than half its previous price. OPEC’s potential about-face is evident in the regular bulletin the organization provides. The July-August 2015 missive leads with a piece called, “Cooperation Holds the Key to Oil’s Future.” “International crude oil prices in July suffered their largest monthly decline since Lehman Brothers collapsed in the United […]

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