VIENNA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Although the Organization
of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said time and again that the
international oil market was well-supplied, oil prices have surged dramatically
this month.
OPEC daily prices rose again by 0.9 U.S. dollar
Thursday and set a new record of 116.93 dollars per barrel (dpb), the cartel's
secretariat said Friday.
The prices have been on constant rise since the
beginning of this year, with the monthly average prices surging from 88.35 dpb
in January to 105.16 dpb in April.
Comparing with previous years, the prices soared in
May despite the warming weather of the northern hemisphere, which should reduce
oil demand.
On May 1-8, the prices rocketed from 105.99 dpb to
116.93 dpb in just five consecutive trading days.
SPECULATIONS IN COMMODITY
MARKET
The sharp increase of oil prices is attributed to
speculations in the commodity market, especially the oil market, coupled with
the depreciation of the U.S. dollar, OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri
said in a statement Thursday.
Al-Badri listed the oil stocks of the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United States to prove his view
that the oil market is well-supplied.
He said OPEC's current daily output stands at more
than 32 million barrels, adding that a number of new crude oil projects have
started to come on-stream.
In addition, the cartel's spare capacity continues to
increase, with the figure currently standing above 3 million barrels per day,
al-Badri said.
Experts said that along with the weak U.S. dollar,
the geopolitical crisis, especially in some OPEC member countries, also
stimulated the rising of the oil prices.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs, a famous international
investing bank, said recently that the oil prices would reach between 150 dpb
and 200 dpb. This prediction encouraged the speculations in the oil market,
resulting in enormous rise of oil prices.
Some market research groups also foresee a
consecutive rise of oil prices in the short run. indicating that approaching 200
dpb is a likely scenario.
OPPOSITE
ANALYSIS
However, Thomas Straubhaar, director of an economic
research body in Germany, said Friday that the oil prices would go down in the
medium term. He even predicted a trend of "dropping under 100 dpb."
The higher oil prices would lead to fuel-saving
measures and larger output by producers, he said, adding that the supply would
become excessive and drag down the rising prices.
In his statement, al-Badri also warned of the
overheating speculations in the oil market.
"Crude oil movements indicate that some (OPEC) member
countries are unable to find buyers for their additional supply," he said.
VIENNA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- General Secretary of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Abdullah Salem El-Badri said here on Thursday although the oil prices rose sharply in recent months, there was clearly no oil shortage in the market.
He said in a statement that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) commercial oil stocks remained above the five-year average. Meanwhile, U.S. crude inventories rose about 6 million barrels last week, which showed that the oil market was well-supplied. Full story
VIENNA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The daily average oil prices of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Tuesday rebounded vehemently to 114.75 U.S. dollars per barrel (dpb) Wednesday, setting a new daily prices record, said the Vienna-based cartel.
The daily average prices of OPEC went down from 111.66 dpb
on April 28 to 105.99 dpb on May 1 and rebounded slightly to 106.99 dpb on May
2. However, the prices showed a fierce rise by 4.61 dollars to 111.60 dpb Monday
and soared vehemently Tuesday by 3.15dollars to 114.75 dpb. Full
story
BEIJING, April 21 -- OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah
el al-Badri said Sunday oil prices would likely go higher and that the group was
ready to raise production if the price pressure was due to a shortage of supply
-- something he doubted.
"Oil prices, there is a common understanding that has
nothing to do with supply and demand," al-Badri said on the sidelines of an
energy conference in Rome.Full Story
VIENNA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- OPEC's average daily oil
prices have set records 16 times since the beginning of this year and soared to
106.65 U.S. dollars per barrel (dpb) Wednesday, the Vienna-based cartel said
Thursday.
Oil prices have surged higher since 2007 and regularly hit
new peaks, so that price breaking is no longer news but a "routine" matter.
International oil market analysts attribute the high
prices mainly to the large amount of speculation in the commodity market,
inspired by the weak dollar. Full story
VIENNA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- World oil demand this year is
forecast to grow by 1.2 million barrels daily to an average of 87 million
barrels per day, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said
Tuesday.
The forecast maintains OPEC's estimation last month,
despite soaring global oil prices. Full Story
LIMA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Petro-Tech Peruana oil company
on Wednesday confirmed reserves of 1.132 billion barrels of high quality oil off
the coasts of the Peruvian provinces of Piura and Lambayaque.
Exploration chief of the Argentine capital Petro-Tech
Peruana oil enterprise, Enrique Gonzalez, said that the San Miguel oil well
alone, in Piura, has 323 million barrels of oil. Full Story
