| Pressure mounts for new controls on oil futures speculators
Sean Cota runs a family-owned fuel oil business in Bellows Falls, Vt., and has been active in the futures markets for 20 years, locking in prices to protect both himself and his customers. But over the past five years, he has watched in amazement -- and growing anger -- as speculators flooded into the market. It has created tremendous volatility and, he believes, driven up prices for crude oil, heating oil and a host of other commodities. As prices hover near record levels this year, his customers are bearing the brunt -- turning down their thermostats, taking longer to pay their bills and even using credit cards to pay for home heating. "All of these things are having a huge impact on people for something that is just not justified by supply and demand," Cota said.
London robusta coffee hits 9-year high
London robusta coffee futures hit a nine-and-a-half-year high and cocoa reached a four-year peak on Friday on a wave of enthusiasm among investment funds for all sorts of commodities. Reallocation of investments for the New Year has already seen several basic resource prices, including gold and oil, hit record highs this month and soft commodities such as coffee and cocoa have been tipped as a good bet for the year ahead. "Funds are increasing their holding in both commodities at the moment. It is not an overnight thing, I think it has been building for some time," soft commodities trader Jeff Cooper of Ambrian Commodities said. .
Oil price strikes record $US90
CRUDE oil prices struck a record $US90 a barrel in after-hours trading in New York overnight, amid increased tensions between Turkey's government and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. Traders said a weak US dollar and supply jitters had also stoked the price surge. The price gains came after New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, had jumped $US2.07 to a record close of $US89.47 a barrel. London prices also pushed higher in after-hours trading, as Brent North Sea crude for December delivery soared to $US84.88 after the contract had earlier settled $US1.47 higher at $US84.60. Oil prices have pushed higher this week amid geopolitical angst related to the Turkey-Iraq border and a weakening dollar, which makes dollar-priced commodities such as oil cheaper for buyers with stronger currencies and therefore lifts crude demand.
Big miners drag stocks down
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract was down 72 points to 6528, on a volume of 19,549 contracts. CMC Markets dealer Matt Wacher said lower base metal prices overnight are weighing on the local bourse. "Most of the sectors seem to be pretty flat. Energy and materials sectors are off," Mr Wacher said. "I guess the materials and energy sectors are off on the back of the commodity prices overnight. Oil prices and all the base metals took a bit of a beating and similarly with the gold price which was off quite substantially." Mr Wacher said positive retail sales data in the United States helped to buoy stocks on Wall Street."The US retail sales result was pretty strong so that's probably given a bit of impetus to the market as a whole over there. "It started much lower on the day and ended up around 40 points on the close...
Dow up 90 despite inflation, growth worries
Stocks climbed out of a hole Wednesday, closing higher despite conflicting worries about inflation and economic growth.
Advances by technology stocks, led by an 8 percent rally in the shares of Hewlett-Packard, and energy stocks, reflected in a nearly 2 percent gain by Chevron, helped lead the market higher.
In futures trading, crude oil continued its assault on triple-digit barrel prices. Oil for March delivery rose 73 cents a barrel, to $100.74, its second straight record-high close, after trading as high as $101.32 during the session.
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Apache enjoys doubling of quarterly profit
Apache Corp., the largest U.S. investor in Egypt, said Thursday that its fourth-quarter net income doubled because of record oil prices and increased production. Profit jumped to $1.07 billion, or $3.19 a share, from $520.8 million, or $1.56, a year earlier, Houston-based Apache said. Profit excluding the impact of tax-rate changes and currency fluctuations was $2.92 a share, 44 cents higher than the average of 26 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. U.S. oil futures traded 50 percent higher than a year earlier in the fourth quarter on their way to topping $100 a barrel for the first time in January. About half of Apache's production is oil. More than 85 percent is sold at the going rate, rather than under hedging contracts that lock in prices. "Every day that we see $90 oil is a very good day," Chief Financial Officer Roger Plank told investors at an industry conference in November.
Oil price hits new record of $US101.32 a barrel
WORLD oil prices hit a new record of $US101.32 ($110.48) a barrel in Asian trading today on renewed concerns over global crude oil supplies. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, closed overnight up 73 cents at an all-time high of $US100.74. The latest price spike burst Tuesday's record price of $US100.10 and record close at $US100.01. In London, Brent North Sea crude for April delivery settled 14 cents lower at $US98.42, after striking a record $US98.70 Tuesday. Prices have soared amid growing speculation OPEC, which supplies about 40 per cent of the world's oil, may cut output at its March 5 meeting in Vienna, anticipating a fall in demand at the end of the northern hemisphere winter and a US economic slowdown, analysts said. "Supply worries and comments by some OPEC members that the group might not raise output at their March meeting provided the catalyst for the sharp rally," said Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish.
Glimmer of hope amid the gloom
Resources stocks were hit hard after gold and base metals prices dipped overnight, while oil dropped to its lowest level in a month. Locally, a late session rally pared back losses on the benchmark indices from more than three per cent in morning trade. At the 4.15pm close (Sydney time), the S&P/ASX200 index had fallen 48.8 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 5747.3 while the broader All Ordinaries shed 57.6 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 5799.4. On the Sydney Futures Exchange at 4.25pm, the March share price index contract had dropped 29 points or 0.5 per cent to 5763 on a volume of 36,599 contracts. But CommSec equities Analyst Juliana Roadley said the Australian sharemarket remained a good vehicle for retail investors, adding that the current environment would also present some bargains.
Oil prices touch new high of $101.32
SINGAPORE: World oil prices hit a new record of USD 101.32 a barrel on renewed concerns over global crude supplies, dealers said on Thursday.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, touched the all-time peak in electronic trading before it lapsed.
In morning trade, the contract for April delivery which took over was trading at USD 99.76 a barrel, up six cents from the previous day.
Brent North Sea crude for April delivery rose three cents to USD 98.45 a barrel. .
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