crude oil prices markets outlooks march 13 2012

5:31 AM

Unknown

crude oil prices markets outlooks march 13 2012
mines,gold,silver,oil,gazz,coal,prices,market,asia,europa,america,africa

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in April, shed $US1.06 to close at $US106.34 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for April settled at $US125.34 a barrel in London trade, down 64 US cents from Friday's closing level.

"Crude oil fell sharply... Traders were reacting to news over the weekend that China had recorded its largest trade deficit in more than ten years," GFT analyst David Morrison said.

"This added to concerns over the outlook for global growth as austerity measures across Europe take hold."

World oil prices have dropped as investors fretted over the strength of worldwide energy demand following weak Chinese economic data.

Saturday showed the Chinese economy swung to a trade deficit of $US31.48 billion ($A29.93 billion) in February, as crude oil and other key raw material imports soared.

"This suggests that China is acting strategically to boost its energy holdings, no doubt mindful of growing geopolitical risks, and anxious to ensure that it will be able to keep abreast of future domestic demand," Morrison said.

Oil traders meanwhile also booked profits from recent price rallies.

"It seems that investors remain cautious about the level of the oil demand, said Sucden oil analyst Myrto Sokou. "Investors were prompted to some profit taking today, following the strong upside rally in crude oil prices last week."

Iran is seeking outlets for its oil after U.S. and European sanctions cut off transactions with the country’s banking system to pressure the Islamic republic into reining in its nuclear program. The country has threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for a fifth of oil traded worldwide, if sanctions are imposed on its crude exports.

State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp. has a contingency plan if the strait is closed, Chief Executive Officer Farouk Al-Zanki said today in Kuwait, without providing details. Demand for the company’s crude oil “still looks good,” he said.

Prices are “a bit high” and should be at $100 a barrel, Mohammed Al-Rumhy, Oman’s oil minister, said in an interview at the IEF. The sultanate will produce an average 900,000 barrels a day of crude and condensate this year, little changed from the end of last year, he said.

Kuwait pumped about 3 million barrels of oil and condensates a day last month, Al-Zinki said. The U.A.E. produced 2.6 million barrels of oil a day in February, Al-Hamli told reporters. Angola is currently producing 1.7 million barrels of oil a day, according to Botelho de Vasconcelos.....read more