| Oil prices hit highest level since iraq war { January 13 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1073280986133&p=1012571727085http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1073280986133&p=1012571727085
Oil prices hit highest level since Iraq war By Kevin Morrison Published: January 13 2004 12:01 | Last Updated: January 13 2004 21:11 Crude oil futures hit post-Iraq war highs on Tuesday but later fell on profit-taking as speculative interest in oil remained around four-year highs.
Cold weather forecasts for the US had boosted Brent for February delivery to a post-Iraq war high of $32.12. Brent crude futures have risen about six per cent this year. The contract later closed 39 cents lower at $31.37.
February Nymex WTI had reached an intra-day high of $35.20, also a post-Iraq war high, before closing 29 cents lower on the day at $34.43.
Earlier, Opec called for a halt to the surge in oil prices. "We are calling all parties involved in the oil markets to take an initiative to keep prices stable," said Opec president Purnomo Yusgiantoro.
Traders had said that the gains, while strong, were a shadow of those seen in Singapore, which is the main centre in east Asia for physical trading of oil, gasoline and other energy products.
One London trader said gasoline prices in Singapore had risen to about $50 a barrel, from about $30 just before Christmas. This is also above US gasoline prices of around $42 a barrel. US gasoline futures have risen about 20 per cent since the start of December to about $1.0165 a gallon.
"There is a strong fundamental picture for gasoline in the Far East. China's consumption is growing rapidly because they are driving more cars," said the trader.
He said there was gasoline refined in Europe that was now heading to east Asia rather than the US, Europe's traditional export market.
Platinum prices touched a near 24-year high of $866 a troy ounce before receding to $857/$862 by the close in Europe.
Traders said Chinese buying has been stronger than expected leading up to the Chinese New Year in two weeks, one of the busiest shopping periods.
Gold also failed to hold on to its gains, ending at $423.55/$424.30 a troy ounce, down from its intra-day high of $426.50. The London afternoon fix was $425.25.
Silver was quoted at $6.52/$5.54 a troy ounce, down from its near six-year high of $6.72 reached on Monday.
Nickel again stood out in base metals trading, the three-month contract dropping $650 to $14,250 a tonne at the end of open outcry trading on the London Metal Exchange.
Copper was the only base metal to gain, with the three-month LME contract edging up $1 to $2,372.
The International Copper Study Group said copper demand exceeded supply by 360,000 tonnes in the 10 months to October 2003, compared with a surplus of 22,000 a year earlier.
The ICSG said that copper stocks on the LME, Comex in New York, and the Shanghai Futures Exchange had fallen by 46,158 tonnes to 806,018 tonnes at the end of December.
Cold weather forecasts for the US had boosted Brent for February delivery to a post-Iraq war high of $32.12. Brent crude futures have risen about six per cent this year. The contract later closed 39 cents lower at $31.37. February Nymex WTI had reached an intra-day high of $35.20, also a post-Iraq war high, before closing 29 cents lower on the day at $34.43.
Earlier, Opec called for a halt to the surge in oil prices. "We are calling all parties involved in the oil markets to take an initiative to keep prices stable," said Opec president Purnomo Yusgiantoro.
Traders had said that the gains, while strong, were a shadow of those seen in Singapore, which is the main centre in east Asia for physical trading of oil, gasoline and other energy products.
One London trader said gasoline prices in Singapore had risen to about $50 a barrel, from about $30 just before Christmas. This is also above US gasoline prices of around $42 a barrel. US gasoline futures have risen about 20 per cent since the start of December to about $1.0165 a gallon.
"There is a strong fundamental picture for gasoline in the Far East. China's consumption is growing rapidly because they are driving more cars," said the trader.
He said there was gasoline refined in Europe that was now heading to east Asia rather than the US, Europe's traditional export market.
Platinum prices touched a near 24-year high of $866 a troy ounce before receding to $857/$862 by the close in Europe.
Traders said Chinese buying has been stronger than expected leading up to the Chinese New Year in two weeks, one of the busiest shopping periods.
Gold also failed to hold on to its gains, ending at $423.55/$424.30 a troy ounce, down from its intra-day high of $426.50. The London afternoon fix was $425.25.
Silver was quoted at $6.52/$5.54 a troy ounce, down from its near six-year high of $6.72 reached on Monday.
Nickel again stood out in base metals trading, the three-month contract dropping $650 to $14,250 a tonne at the end of open outcry trading on the London Metal Exchange.
Copper was the only base metal to gain, with the three-month LME contract edging up $1 to $2,372.
The International Copper Study Group said copper demand exceeded supply by 360,000 tonnes in the 10 months to October 2003, compared with a surplus of 22,000 a year earlier.
The ICSG said that copper stocks on the LME, Comex in New York, and the Shanghai Futures Exchange had fallen by 46,158 tonnes to 806,018 tonnes at the end of December.
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