OPEC+ agrees oil output cut to prop up prices

VIENNA, Austria - The OPEC+ oil cartel agreed Monday to cut production for the first time in more than a year as it seeks to lift prices that have tumbled due to recession fears.

The move could irk the United States as it has pressed the group to increase output in order to bring down energy prices that have fuelled decades-high inflation.

OPEC+, a 23-nation coalition led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, had agreed to huge cuts in output in 2020 when the Covid pandemic sent oil prices crashing, but it began to increase production modestly again last year as the market improved.

Oil prices soared to almost $140 a barrel in March after Russia invaded Ukraine.

But they have since receded below $100 per barrel amid recession fears, Covid lockdowns in major consumer China and Iran nuclear talks that could bring Iranian crude back into the market.

While analysts had expected another modest increase at Monday's ministerial meeting, OPEC+ said in a statement that it decided to reduce output by 100,000 barrels per day in October, returning to the production level of August.

"An output cut won't make them any friends at a time when the world is facing a cost-of-living crisis already and the group has failed to keep up with demand this year," Craig Erlam, analyst at OANDA trading platform, warned prior to the OPEC+ announcement.

Oil prices rose by more than three percent following the announcement, with the international benchmark, Brent, exceeding $96 per barrel while the US contract, WTI, reached almost $90.

At its last meeting, OPEC+ agreed to a small rise of 100,000 barrels per day for September after US President Joe Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia to plead for a production bump -- although it was six times lower than its previous decisions. 

Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman last month had appeared to open the door to the idea of cutting output, which has since received the support of several member states and the cartel's joint technical committee.

He said "volatility and thin liquidity send erroneous signals to markets at times when clarity is most needed".

Caroline Bain, commodities expert at Capital Economics, said the cut was not a total surprise a "little more than symbolic" as OPEC+ has struggled to meet its quotas due to lackluster production in some of its member countries.

"The bigger picture is that OPEC+ is producing well below its output target and this looks unlikely to change given that Angola and Nigeria, in particular, appear unable to return to pre-pandemic levels of production," Bain said.

In efforts to curb rising oil prices, the United States and its allies have released crude from their emergency reserves.

And in a bid to curb Russia's war funding, the G7 group of industrialized powers agreed Friday to move "urgently" towards capping the price of Russian oil. 

Moscow has warned that it will no longer sell oil to countries that adopt the unprecedented mechanism.

Another geopolitical issue is clouding the outlook.

Negotiations aimed at reviving a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers could lead to an easing of oil sanctions in return for curbs to its atomic activities.

However, Washington said Thursday that Tehran's latest response to a European Union draft was "unfortunately... not constructive". 

Agence France-Presse

Oil prices jump, stocks mixed with spotlight on surging inflation

LONDON - Oil prices rallied Wednesday, adding to soaring inflation concerns, while stock markets diverged.

Crude futures jumped 2.5 percent with Brent North Sea headed towards $120 per barrel.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Wednesday warned that a ban on Russian oil and gas imports over the Ukraine war would drive the world's energy markets to a "collapse". 

"It is absolutely obvious that without Russian hydrocarbons, if sanctions are introduced, there will be a collapse of the oil and gas markets," Novak told Russia's lower house State Duma as reported by Russian news agencies.

"The rise in energy prices may be unpredictable," Novak added. 

On stock markets, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was up after official data showed UK annual inflation had surged to 6.2 percent last month, the highest level in 30 years. 

While inflation increases company costs it can boost their revenues by sizeable amounts. 

The British data were published ahead of a UK budget update Wednesday that could ease a cost-of-living crisis for millions of Britons as inflation rockets worldwide largely owing to soaring energy prices. 

"Today's data confirm a worsening squeeze on consumer incomes," said Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK.

"These price rises were dominated by increases in energy, and we expect further rises this year as global energy, food, and other commodities markets are impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine."

Elsewhere, eurozone stock markets fell Wednesday after Asia's top indices closed higher.

Wall Street had rallied Tuesday on optimism that the Federal Reserve's plan to hike interest rates would help to bring inflation under control.

While there remains plenty of concern about the war in Ukraine, analysts said some confidence had seeped back into trading floors as investors bet on consumer resilience and economies continue to reopen.

Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell this week said that the US central bank was prepared to act more aggressively on lifting borrowing costs should American inflation -- already at a 40-year high -- not fall quickly enough.

Officials lifted US rates last week by a quarter of a point but some have advocated bigger increases, a view Powell suggested he was open to believing that the world's biggest economy was strong enough to withstand such a move.

Agence France-Presse

Omicron panic pummels equities, oil

NEW YORK - Global equity and oil markets slumped Monday on investor panic over the impact of worldwide measures to contain the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant, dealers said.

Asia tanked due to concerns over a fresh global surge in coronavirus infections, sparking a fierce renewed selloff in Europe, while Wall Street indices also closed lower.

Oil tumbled as traders fretted over how the latest Covid-19 strain might hit the world's appetite for energy, which has already suffered a heavy blow since the pandemic erupted early last year.

In New York, sentiment was jarred by a crucial moderate Democratic senator's announcement that he would not support President Joe Biden's social spending bill, imperiling the measure that some analysts view as a positive for US growth.

"It does not feel like the most wonderful time of the year for Wall Street," Oanda's Edward Moya said in a note.

OMICRON PANIC MODE

The British pound fell sharply after the surprise weekend departure of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit minister David Frost.

"After battling endless headwinds in recent weeks, markets have finally been knocked over as the rapid spread of Omicron finally reaches panic mode," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Meanwhile, the EU's drug regulator approved a fifth Covid jab as the United States warned of a bleak winter with the Omicron variant spurring new waves of infections globally.

Since it was first reported in South Africa in November, Omicron has been identified in dozens of countries, prompting many to reimpose travel restrictions and other measures.

The Netherlands imposed a Christmas lockdown, and Germany tightened restrictions notably affecting the unvaccinated, while media speculation swirls over the re-imposition of tougher UK curbs.

STOLEN CHRISTMAS?

The rapid spread of Omicron has also slammed the oil market and travel stocks, since a return to containment measures and travel curbs would hit the aviation and tourism industries as well as dampen demand for fuel.

"There is some de-risking in the face of headline news that has market participants thinking the Omicron Grinch might steal Christmas after all," said analyst Patrick J. O'Hare at Briefing.com.

With traders beginning to wind down ahead of the festive season, analysts said trade was thinner and markets more susceptible to swings, but the mood has become increasingly glum as central banks start paring their huge financial support to fight inflation.

World markets had briefly risen last week after other major central banks took action to combat soaring inflation, even as spiking Covid-19 cases threaten the fragile economic recovery.

The Bank of England delivered the first interest rate hike in three years, while the Federal Reserve said it would speed up the taper of its bond-buying program and indicated three interest rate hikes before the end of 2022.

Dealers were unmoved Monday by news that China had trimmed a key interest rate by five basis points as it looks to reignite the stuttering economy.

Meanwhile, in Chile, the Santiago stock market plunged almost seven percent at the opening bell after leftist Gabriel Boric decisively won the presidential election, with the Chilean peso also taking a beating.

Agence France-Presse

US to release oil from reserves after OPEC+ rebuffs call for more crude

WASHINGTON - The United States said on Tuesday it would release 50 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves in a coordinated move with China, India, South Korea, Japan and Britain to cool prices after OPEC+ producers rebuffed calls for more crude.

The White House issued the statement after a source in the US administration said Washington had been hashing out a plan with major Asian energy consumers to drive down prices from near three-year highs. Britain had not previously been mentioned.

US President Joe Biden, facing low approval ratings amid rising inflation ahead of next year's congressional elections, has repeatedly called on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, to pump more oil.

But the group has rebuffed the requests, as members have already been struggling to meet its existing targets for production increases and amid fears a resurgence of coronavirus cases could once again drive down demand.

The release from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve would be in the form of a loan sale to companies, which must return the crude at a later date, and was the first time the United States had coordinated a release with some of the world's largest oil consumers, US officials said.

OPEC+ states, including US allies in the Gulf, meet again on Dec. 2 to discuss policy but have shown no sign of any change in tack to heed US calls.

The unprecedented effort by Washington to team up with major Asian economies to lower energy prices sends a warning to OPEC and other big producers that they need to address concerns about high crude prices, up more than 50 percent so far this year.

An OPEC+ source, speaking before the group's December meeting, said a release from reserves would complicate the maths for OPEC+, as it monitors the market on a monthly basis.

Suhail Al-Mazrouei, energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, one of OPEC's biggest producers, said earlier Tuesday he saw "no logic" in increasing UAE supply to global markets.

(Reporting Timothy Gardner; Additional reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Ghaida Ghantous in the United Arab Emirates; Writing by Richard Valdmanis and Edmumd Blair; Editing by Carmel Crimmins)

-reuters

Oil giant Shell sets sights on sustainable aviation fuel take-off

LONDON - Dutch Shell plans to start producing low-carbon jet fuel at scale by 2025, in an attempt to encourage the world's airlines to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Aviation, accounting for 3 percent of the world's carbon emissions, is considered one of the toughest sectors to tackle due to a lack of alternative technologies to jet fueled-engines.

Shell, one of the world's largest oil traders, said it aims to produce 2 million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2025, a ten-fold increase from today's total global output.

Produced from waste cooking oil, plants and animal fats, SAF could cut up to 80 percent of aviation emissions, Shell said.

Shell, which at present only supplies SAF produced by others, including Finnish refiner Neste, said on Monday it wants green jet fuel, which can be blended with regular aviation fuel with little need to change plane engines, to make up 10 percent of its global aviation fuel sales by 2030.

SAF accounts for less than 0.1 percent of today's global aviation fuel demand, which reached around 330 million tonnes in 2019, investment bank Jefferies said.

Growing the market faces several hurdles, primarily due to the cost of SAF, which is currently up to 8 times higher than regular jet fuel, and the limited availability of feedstock.

Shell said it wants others to follow its lead.

"We also expect other companies to add to it with their own production plants," Anna Mascolo, head of Shell Aviation, told Reuters.

The United States said last week it wants to cut aircraft greenhouse-gas emissions by 20% by the end of the decade by significantly boosting SAF usage.

NEW PRODUCTION

Anglo-Dutch shell, which aims to reduce emissions from fuels it sells to net zero by 2050, is in the midst of a large overhaul aimed at producing more low-carbon fuels such as biodiesel and SAF, as well as hydrogen.

Shell plans to build a biofuels processing plant at its Rotterdam refinery with an annual capacity of 820,000 tons, with SAF set to make up more than half of the output. The plant is expected to start production in 2024.

In a new report on the decarbonization of aviation published together with Deloitte, Shell called for the sector to cut its emissions to net zero by 2050.

The International Air Transport Association, representing most of the world's airlines, aims to halve emissions by then.

Reducing emissions to net zero can be achieved by using more low-carbon fuel and offsetting the remaining emissions through carbon credits.

Shell is also developing synthetic aviation fuel made from hydrogen and recycled carbon.

"Sustainable aviation fuel, whether bio SAF or synthetic SAF, remains the single biggest solution," Mascolo said.

-reuters

Equity markets and oil bounce back after last week's tumble

HONG KONG - Stocks and oil rallied Monday on bargain-buying after last week's blow-out, with traders tracking a healthy Wall Street performance fuelled by comments from a top Federal Reserve official that the spread of the Delta variant could cause him to reconsider plans to taper monetary policy.

Fears about the Covid mutation have rattled world markets as it forces some governments to reimpose containment measures, while sentiment was jolted further last week by minutes from the Fed's July meeting indicating it could start withdrawing its vast financial support by year's end.

The colossal bond-buying program and record-low interest rates have been a key pillar of the global recovery for more than a year, and the prospect of the cash being withdrawn has stalled that advance.

However, Dallas Federal Reserve boss Bob Kaplan, who is considered a policy hawk, suggested he could rethink his view to taper soon in light of the Delta variant's spread, which is showing signs of hobbling economic growth.

"The thing that I am going to be watching very carefully over the next month, before the next (Fed) meeting, is (whether) it is having a more material impact on slowing demand and slowing GDP growth," he said.

"I'm going to keep an open mind on that, and if it is having a more negative effect that might cause me to adjust my views somewhat from ones that I've stated."

Observers said the general consensus is that even when the Fed finishes winding back support, it is unlikely to immediately start hiking interest rates.

"Markets react to interest-rate hikes much more than tapering and we expect a pause between tapering and the first hike, suggesting liftoff in 2023 and not before," said Esty Dwek of Natixis Investment Managers.

BITCOIN BACK ABOVE $50K

Focus is now on Fed chief Jerome Powell's speech to the Jackson Hole annual conference of central bankers and finance chiefs, with hopes for a clue about a taper timetable.

All three main indexes on Wall Street rallied Friday, and Asia picked up the baton at the start of the week.

Tokyo jumped 1.8 percent while Shanghai, Bangkok and Jakarta were all up more than one percent. Hong Kong, which sank nearly six percent last week, was also up with Sydney, Seoul, Wellington and Mumbai. Taipei jumped more than two percent.

London, Paris and Frankfurt opened sharply higher.

The positive start was mirrored in oil markets, with both main contracts enjoying big gains, having suffered heavy losses recently owing to concerns that the Delta spread would impact demand as countries restrict people's movements.

Crude also rallied, helped by a dip in the dollar caused by the Kaplan remarks, while the observers said concerns over demand could prompt OPEC and other major producers to reconsider plans to increase output each month.

Still, while the week has got off to a healthy start, investors remain cautious about Delta's effect on the recovery outlook, while China's ongoing regulatory clampdown is also keeping optimism in check. 

Bitcoin broke back above $50,000 for the first time since mid-May, boosted by bargain-buying and leading some to predict the cryptocurrency could now be on course to hit $100,000.

"We're seeing some very bullish signs here," Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia-Pacific with crypto exchange Luno in Singapore, said. The currency could "test all-time highs again", he added. Bitcoin hit a record of almost $65,000 in April before suffering a sharp sell-off over the following months.

Agence France-Presse 

Oil prices gain on expectations OPEC+ will keep lid on output

SINGAPORE - Oil prices rose on Wednesday as investors bet OPEC and its allies would largely agree to extend their supply curbs into May, while strong growth in China's manufacturing activity this month sent out more signals of economic recovery.

Brent crude futures for May, which expires on Wednesday, rose 46 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $64.60 a barrel at 0635 GMT, after falling 1.3 percent on Tuesday. The more active Brent contract for June was up 52 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $64.69 a barrel.

The benchmark has shed more than 2 percent so far this month, compared with a 18 percent rise in February.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 51 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $61.06 a barrel, after falling 1.6 percent in the previous session.

"Oil prices appear to be underpinned by upbeat Chinese Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which underscored the growth momentum of the world's second-largest economy," said Margaret Yang, a strategist at Singapore-based DailyFX.

"Against the backdrop of lowered energy demand in Europe due to a third viral wave, OPEC+ and its allies are likely to extend the current production cut into May until the growth prospects show signs of improvement."

China's manufacturing activity expanded at the quickest pace in three months in March as factories cranked up production after a brief lull during the Lunar New Year holidays. 

But OPEC+ has raised concerns that rising numbers of coronavirus infections globally and lockdown measures will impact the recovery in demand for oil, according to a report from the group's experts panel meeting seen by Reuters. 

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, are set to meet on Thursday, following a month in which oil prices have whipsawed on concerns about extended pandemic lockdowns in Europe, slow vaccine rollouts and rising COVID-19 cases in India and Brazil, pitted against growing optimism on growth in the United States.

OPEC+ last month surprised the market by agreeing to extend supply curbs, with small exceptions for Russia and Kazakhstan, at a time when fuel demand appeared to be recovering.

"All eyes will be on OPEC+ meeting for May output decisions and considering the surge in COVID-19 cases and lockdowns being implemented in parts of Europe, and the strength in dollar, it may pressure prices by another 2 to 3 percent," said Sunilkumar Katke, head of currencies and commodities at Axis Securities.

Under existing curbs, OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, and non-OPEC producers, led by Russia, have cut just over 7 million barrels per day (bpd), while Saudi Arabia has made an additional voluntary reduction of 1 million bpd.

Saudi Arabia is prepared to back an extension of the supply cuts into June, including its own voluntary cut, to boost prices, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters this week. 

(Reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Koustav Samanta in Singapore; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Richard Pullin)

-reuters

Venezuelan oil price falls below $10, lowest level in 20 years

The price of Venezuelan oil has fallen to below $10 a barrel -- its lowest level in more than two decades, the government said on Friday.

The oil ministry said the price between Monday and Friday was 70.62 Chinese yuan -- $9.90 a barrel -- a level that has not been seen since 1998 when it was $9.28.

Since 2017, the government of President Nicolas Maduro has announced its oil prices in yuan rather than dollars in protest over US sanctions.

The weekly price -- last year averaging $56.70 and at $61.41 in 2018 -- has fallen through the floor since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Oil prices have been sliding since 2014 and exacerbating the country's ongoing economic crisis that has pushed almost five million Venezuelans to leave the country, according to UN figures.

Venezuela is almost entirely dependent on its oil revenues, which account for around 96 percent of its income.

"It is an extremely extreme situation," oil expert Francisco Monaldi said this week in a meeting with the country's Foreign Press Association.

"Venezuela would normally need prices of more than $30 to make it attractive to continue drilling and pay royalties," he said.

"What we are experiencing is a kind of Armageddon."

Venezuela's oil production has fallen to around a quarter of its 2008 level.

Maduro's government blames that on US sanctions, including against state oil company PDVSA, but many analysts say the regime has failed to invest in or maintain infrastructure.

Although the South American country has the largest oil reserves in the world, the sector is a victim of corruption and lack of investment, according to analysts and the Venezuelan opposition.

Between 2004 and 2015, the country earned $750 billion from its oil exports, the price of which peaked in 2011 and 2012 with an annual barrel average of $101.06 and $103.42 respectively.

But now, the government is running the printing press to make up for the budget deficit -- and fueling runaway inflation.

Despite a national lockdown because of the coronavirus, protests have bubbled up across the country as people experience shortages of food and medical necessities.

Officials said several dozen people had demonstrated in Upata, a town of about 100,000 inhabitants, while seven people were injured Wednesday during protests -- that turned to looting -- in the eastern state of Sucre.

At least 10 people have died from COVID-19 in Venezuela, with just over 300 infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Agence France-Presse

US stocks dip as oil pushes energy sector lower

NEW YORK—A slump in energy prices pushed the stock market back from record levels on Tuesday.

Energy stocks slid as the price of oil resumed its descent. Traders speculated that member nations of the oil-producing group OPEC would fail to agree on production cuts at an upcoming meeting in Vienna on Thursday. Oil has now dropped almost a third from a peak in June.

While lower oil prices are a long-term boon to consumers and industrial companies, they are a drag on stocks in the near term because energy companies account for about 10 percent of the overall market’s profits.

Despite the losses, the major indexes remain close to all-time highs.

Stocks have been drifting gradually higher this month, having rebounded sharply from a slump in October, as investors have grown more confident that actions from central banks around the world will help bolster the global economy. The gains are likely to continue for now, said Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust.

“People’s sentiment is still pretty conservative,” McDonald said. “That means that the slow-and-steady market can continue longer than people anticipate.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 2.38 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,067.03. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 2.96 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 17,814.94. The Nasdaq composite gained 3.36 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,758.25.

Stocks started the day with small gains after a report showed that the US economy grew at a solid 3.9 percent annual rate in the July-September period, faster than the 3.5 percent that was initially reported. The upward revision was due to higher estimates of spending by consumers and businesses, the Commerce Department said.

That positive report was tempered by news that US consumer confidence fell in November. The Conference Board says its consumer confidence index fell to 88.7, down from a seven-year high of 94.5 in October. The decline primarily reflected less optimism in the short-term outlook as consumers expressed less confidence in current business conditions.

Among individual stocks, Pall, a company that makes filters for the food and health care industries, was the leading gainer in the S&P 500. The company’s stock jumped $3.31, or 3.5 percent, to $98 after its earnings beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts.

Energy stocks slid along with oil prices following reports that the world’s biggest producers are unwilling to cut production to help stop a slump in the price of crude. The sector dropped 1.6 percent and is now down 3.2 percent for the year. It’s the only one of the 10 industry sectors in the S&P 500 that is down for the year.

Representatives from Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Russian state oil giant OAO Rosneft met Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna and didn’t announce any immediate plans to cut output, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Benchmark US crude fell $1.69 to close at $74.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many US refineries, fell $1.35 to close at $78.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In metals trading, the price of gold rose $1.40 to $1,197.10 an ounce. Silver rose 18 cents to $16.55 an ounce and copper fell four cents to $2.96 a pound.

US government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.26 percent from 2.31 percent Monday. The dollar fell to 117.94 yen from 118.28 yen late Monday. The euro rose to $1.2472.

In other energy futures trading on the NYMEX:

— Wholesale gasoline fell 0.1 cent to close at $2.032 a gallon

— Heating oil fell 0.1 cent to close at $2.395 a gallon.

— Natural gas rose 13.1 cents to close at $4.282 per 1,000 cubic feet– Steve Rothwell

source: business.inquirer.net

Oil down as Obama seeks Congress approval on Syria

SINGAPORE – Oil prices fell in Asian trade Monday after US President Barack Obama’s announcement that he would seek approval from lawmakers for military action against Syria eased prospects of an imminent strike, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October, was down $1.47 to $106.18 a barrel in mid-morning trade, while Brent North Sea crude for October fell $1.15 to $112.86.

US markets will be closed Monday for the Labor Day federal holiday.

“Investors are sitting back for now after President Obama’s decision to take the decision on a Syrian intervention to US lawmakers,” Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, told AFP.

After the announcement on Saturday, Obama launched an intense lobbying effort to sway sceptical lawmakers as they weigh whether to support military action against Syria for its alleged chemical weapon use, an official said Sunday.

Although Syria is not a major oil producer, traders are nervous about a broader conflict in the crude-rich Middle East region, including neighbouring Iraq, which is becoming a major exporter.

Obama’s surprise decision to hand the issue to the Congress effectively pushes military action back until at least September 9, when US lawmakers return from their summer recess.

It remains to be seen if a war-weary Congress will endorse Obama’s push for action.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that Washington has proof the Syrian regime used sarin gas in a deadly August 21 strike on a Damascus suburb.

Hair and blood samples given to the US by emergency workers who rushed to the scene of the attack showed signs of the powerful sarin nerve gas, he said.

Chua said all eyes will be on President Obama at a G20 summit in Russia later this week, where Syria is likely to top the agenda.

“There will be keen attention among investors on discussions about Syria at the G20 summit as well as the outcome of any direct meeting between President Obama and Russian President Putin,” he said.

source: business.inquirer.net

Clinton to press India to stop buying oil from Iran

KOLKATA — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in India on Sunday with hopes of reinvigorating a relationship seen as losing steam despite efforts to bring the world’s two largest democracies closer.

Clinton was greeted by streets lined with waving well-wishers as she started her visit in Kolkata, where she will tour monuments and meet ordinary citizens in her latest bid to use her star appeal as a diplomatic tool.

She heads on Monday to New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with whom she is expected to raise U.S. calls for India to stop buying oil from Iran, one of the most open disagreements in years between the countries.

Clinton said she saw ample progress in relations with India, pointing to rising trade and cooperation in areas from education to clean energy.

“I think it’s like any relationship—there is progress in some areas that we are very heartened by, and there is more work to be done,” Clinton told reporters before her arrival.

“But that’s the commitment that we make when we say to another country, we want to be your partner,” she said.

After more than a decade of warming relations, India has bristled at a U.S. law that would impose sanctions on banks from countries that buy oil from Iran due to concerns over Tehran’s contested nuclear program.

A senior U.S. official traveling with Clinton acknowledged that India had quietly been cutting back on Iranian oil and that New Delhi—fiercely protective of its sovereignty—could not be seen as buckling under U.S. pressure.

“Our assessment is that India is making good progress but we really need to receive assurances that they’re going to continue to make good progress,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The official said that Carlos Pascual, the U.S. point man on the issue, would visit New Delhi later this month to determine the next step. Only EU nations and Japan have so far been given exemptions to the sanctions which go into effect on June 28.

India is highly dependent on foreign energy and has historically enjoyed friendly relations with Tehran.

But the U.S. official said that Indian businesses had made “a major strategic bet” on continuing good relations with the United States and did not want to jeopardize them over Iran.

Clinton will meet Monday morning in Kolkata with West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who took power last year by sweeping out nearly 35 years of communist rule in the eastern state.

Clinton will seek to show solidarity with a fellow female leader but also press Banerjee to back the opening up of India’s fast-growing retail sector to major foreign companies such as Walmart, the U.S. official said.

Banerjee, a fractious ally of Singh’s government, was instrumental in scuttling planned retail reforms. Critics charge that liberalizing the sector would devastate India’s ubiquitous small stores, but foreign retailers contend that they can improve efficiency and consumer choice.

US businesses, once at the vanguard of building ties with India, have voiced disappointment over the deadlock on retail reform along with parliament’s refusal to give US nuclear firms greater protection from liabilities.

Nuclear energy had been a symbolic milestone in the relationship, with former President George W Bush championing a deal that ended India’s decades of isolation over its nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

President Barack Obama has backed another of India’s longtime ambitions by supporting its bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. But few expect U.N. reform anytime soon and some Indians have accused the Obama administration of a lack of attention.

T.P. Sreenivasan, a former Indian ambassador to the United Nations, said that the initial expectations for the U.S.-India relationship had not been met but that Clinton had the advantage of being considered a friend of New Delhi.

The visit “comes at a useful time as there is a certain amount of strain in relations that needs to be rectified,” he said.

“The relationship has lost momentum partly because… both are preoccupied with their own internal problems,” he said.

source: japantoday.com

Survey: Gas prices up 12 cents in two weeks

(CNN) -- Gasoline prices have jumped another 12 cents over the past two weeks, according to a survey published Sunday.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular is now $3.81, the Lundberg Survey found.

It was less of a jump than the previous two weeks, when the price climbed 18 cents, said publisher Trilby Lundberg.

The average price found by the Lundberg Survey has jumped 30 cents in four weeks.

While crude oil is the biggest factor, events on the U.S. West Coast are helping keep retail prices up as well, she said.

Fortune: Why gas prices won't influence election


"Gasoline prices would like to peak soon because there is too much gasoline supply versus demand," Lundberg said, "except on the West Coast due to refinery maintenance projects.'

The higher prices on the West Coast "attract gallons from elsewhere in the country," impacting supply nationwide, she said. "So it creates a slightly tighter gasoline market for now."

"When those maintenance activities come to an end in the next few weeks, that will mean even greater gasoline supply versus demand," Lundberg said.

But the future of crude oil prices, the dominant factor in determining gas prices, remains unclear, she said.

"Of course, all of the real or perceived threats to Middle East oil continue to be in play, so it can't be known."

The gas price, a hot-button issue in the U.S. presidential race, is up 31 cents from the average a year ago, Lundberg said.

The Lundberg Survey tabulates prices at thousands of gas stations nationwide. It latest figures were collected Friday.

The city with the lowest average price in the latest survey was Denver, at $3.36. The highest was Los Angeles, at $4.35

Here are prices in some other cities:

-- Boston, $3.78

-- Philadelphia, $3.76

-- Atlanta, $3.72

-- Chicago, $4.08

-- Indianapolis, $3.77

-- Houston, $3.66

-- Las Vegas, $3.77

-- Seattle, $4.00

source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/11/travel/gas-prices/index.html?hpt=us_c1

Oil increases to highest level since 2008

(CNN) -- Oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008 on fears that tensions with Iran have the potential to disrupt supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

The price of a barrel of brent crude hit $128.40 a barrel and eclipsed $110 on the New York Mercantile Exchange after a disputed report Thursday on Iran's Press TV and other Middle East outlets of a pipeline explosion in Saudi Arabia.

Prices for brent crude dropped to $125.45 and $108.50 on the NYMEX early Friday.

"I think the main problems are coming from some supply disruptions, or some fear to supply disruptions, particularly Iran," U.S. Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke told a U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. "So I'm not sure what could provide relief in the very short term."

The price of North Sea brent crude has risen more than 15% this year, while NYMEX crude has risen more than 8.5% on growing tensions surrounding Iran and fears that may lead to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical pathway for petroleum exports.

source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/02/business/oil-prices/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Oil prices higher on positive US data, Iran fears

SINGAPORE — Oil prices edged higher in Asian trade Thursday, supported by upbeat US economic data and fears over supply disruptions in the Middle East, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, gained eight cents to $107.15 and Brent North Sea crude for April delivery was up 12 cents to $122.78 in the afternoon.

"Crude oil jumped back to positive territory... as the Federal Reserve said that the US economy expanded modestly in January through mid-February," said Ker Chung Yang, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures.

"Worries that global oil markets might be short of fuel as the United States and Europe impose sanctions on Iran also kept oil futures supported," he said in a market commentary.

The US Commerce Department on Wednesday said the world's biggest economy grew faster than initially believed in the fourth quarter of 2011 at an annual 3.0 percent, even as the Federal Reserve warned of a slower pace this year.

The Commerce Department said the improvement was due in part to positive contributions from consumer spending and private inventory investments.

Geopolitical concerns in the Middle East also continue to be a strong factor supporting oil prices, analysts said.

On Wednesday, a top US air force official warned that the United States has powerful bombs ready in case of possible military action against crude producer Iran.

His remarks coincided with a visit to Washington by Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak, amid renewed speculation of a potential Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear program, which the West claims is aimed at building atomic weapons. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Wall Street inches toward three-year highs

NEW YORK - US stock markets climbed steadily, if unspectacularly, this week, nearing three year highs despite worry over rising oil prices and Europe's slow boil debt crisis.

"Stocks were in a bear market from October 2007 until March 2009," said Beth Ann Bovino of Standard & Poor's "they have now recovered much of those losses."

The holiday-shortened week saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average hover above the symbolic threshold of 13,000 points, helping add to confidence about the growing economy and falling unemployment.

At the end of the week the Dow was up 0.3 percent to reach 12,982.95 points. The Nasdaq rose 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent.

"A stronger job market is helping the US weather headwinds from both home and abroad," said economists at Nomura, a Japanese bank.

One of those headwinds is higher oil prices, which have been rising on tensions in Iran.

While prices have been on the up for some time, there was renewed focus this week as US politicians talked extensively about what can be done to stem the rise in this election year.

"Oil prices are on the rise again and concerns are growing about their impact on the recovery," said IHS Global Insight economists Paul Edelstein.

"The situation is reminiscent of early-2011, when Brent oil prices reached $126 a barrel, creating a growth pocket in the middle of the year."

"If oil prices stay persistently high or continue to rise, growth forecasts will likely be revised downward. But it would take a much bigger spike in prices to sink the US economy back into recession."

Higher oil prices spelled a boon for the oil majors.

ExxonMobil shares were up two percent for the week and Chevron was up 2.3 percent

Airlines got the raw end of that trade.

US Airways plunged 21 percent, United Continental 13 percent and Delta 12 percent for the week.

In other sectors Wal-Mart saw steep declines, down 5.9 percent following disappointing quarterly earnings.

Wal-Mart missed earnings forecasts for its fourth quarter in part due to heavy price-cutting in the industry during the busy Christmas season.

Hewlett-Packard suffered a nearly 10 percent drop after reporting a 44 percent profit fall in its fiscal first quarter.

After four days that saw little in the way of market-moving data, next week promises to be data-rich including reports on consumer confidence, GDP, manufacturing, and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book. — Agence France Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Oil hovers below $98 amid mixed US demand signs

SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices hovered below $98 a barrel Thursday in Asia amid mixed signs about the strength of U.S. crude demand.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was down 1 cent at $97.60 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 87 cents to settle at $97.61 on Wednesday.

Brent crude was steady at $111.56 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

A jump of U.S. crude inventories last week by 4 million barrels suggested oil consumption is sluggish. However, factories raised output in January by the most in seven months, the Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday while the Commerce Department said construction spending rose 1.5 percent in December, the fifth straight monthly gain.

Oil prices have hovered near $100 for the last few months amid mixed economic signs from the U.S., Europe and Asia. Some analysts expect crude to begin to rise as the global economy may grow more this year than previously expected.

"The crude oil price has become stuck in a remarkably extended period of narrow sideways trading," Barclays Capital said in a report. "However, the market is now likely to start to position for an upside break based on a greater degree of relaxation about macroeconomic prospects."

In other energy trading, heating oil rose 1.4 cents to $3.06 per gallon and gasoline futures were up 0.3 cents to $2.90 per gallon. Natural gas gained 0.8 cent to $2.39 per 1,000 cubic feet.

source: philstar.com