Crude futures prices fell slightly on Friday, capping off a 5 percent decline from a week ago, as worries about low winter fuel inventories dissipate amid rising oil supplies.
Light, sweet crude for December declined US$0.10 to US$47.32 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, settling nearly US$8 below the late October peak of US$55.17. December Brent crude traded at US$42.31, down US$0.71 on the International Petroleum Exchange in London.
A research note by Credit Suisse First Boston said the downtrend in oil prices had reasserted itself after the markets rose Wednesday following the US government's latest petroleum supply report. That report showed the supply of distillate fuel, which includes heating oil, shrank for the eighth consecutive week -- a disappointment to many traders who had been expecting a break in the trend.
By Thursday, though, confidence that the refining industry would produce enough heating oil before winter reemerged, sending prices US$1.44 per barrel lower and reversing all but a nickel of Wednesday's gain.
"The US$55 per barrel prices seen in October were never warranted by the market fundamentals, and with no new supply threats appearing the market could not sustain the rally," the London-based World Markets Research Center said. "However, prices are unlikely to slide below US$45 in the immediate future, given the still precarious distillate situation in the US and the upcoming Nigerian general strike."
Wednesday's US Energy Department report showed commercially available supplies of distillates dipped by 100,000 barrels last week to 115.6 million barrels, or 13 percent below year ago levels.
Heating oil for December was unchanged at US$1.3636 per gallon on Nymex, where gasoline futures rose US$0.12 to US$1.2569 per gallon. Natural gas futures settled at US$7.16 per 1,000 cubic meters, a decline of US$0.76.
Markets have been tense for months due to the world's limited excess production capacity, now only around 1 percent above the daily consumption of 82.4 million barrels, leaving little room to maneuver in the event of a production outage. Such a disruption could come next week as Nigerian unions vowed to defy a court order blocking a strike set for Nov. 16. Nigeria produces 2.5 million barrels a day and is the world's seventh-largest exporter.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors