Crude Oil Rises on North Sea Platform Fire,Weaker U.S.Dollar
By Grant Smith
June 16(Bloomberg)--Crude oil rose after a drill-rig fire cut North Sea production and a weaker dollar made commodities an appealing currency hedge.
StatoilHydro ASA's 150,000barrel-a-day Oseberg oil and gas field off the Norwegian coast remains shut after a fire broke out in a high-voltage room on a platform yesterday.The U.S.currency fell as much as 0.5percent against the euro,making commodity purchases cheaper to foreign investors.
``Norwegian oil is less than 10percent of supply,but they export most of it and it's light oil,so this is not a good sign,''said Thina Saltvedt,an analyst at Nordea Bank AB in Oslo.``If they don't get it back on soon,it will contract market supply.''
Crude oil for July delivery gained as much as 95cents,or 0.7percent,to $135.81a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The contract traded at $135.49a barrel at 1:09p.m.local time.
Oil also rose after U.S.President George W.Bush said that ``all options are on the table''to halt nuclear research by Iran,the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Brent crude for August settlement traded at $135.40a barrel,up 29cents,on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange at 1:09p.m.London time.
Refinery Demand
Saudi Arabia,the world's biggest oil exporter,may announce an output increase at a meeting it's hosting in Jeddah on June 22,an OPEC official said yesterday.The Middle East kingdom will pump an extra 200,000barrels a day next month,Agence France-Presse reported yesterday,citing United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
``Saudi Arabia may increase volumes.Part of the extra will be there to meet seasonally rising demand from refiners,''said Harry Tchilinguirian,senior analyst at BNP Paribas SA.``It really depends on whether they'll supply enough to offset declines in non-OPEC output.''
Oil in New York reached a record $139.12on June 6.Prices fell last week as Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi described the surge in the commodity as ``unjustified''and called the Jeddah meeting of producers and major industrial nations to help stabilize prices.
Oil also fell last week as the dollar posted its biggest gain against the euro since 2005,reducing the appeal of commodities as an investment hedge against inflation.
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