JAKARTA, 5 November 2004 — OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said yesterday the organization will monitor any impact from the re-election of US President George W. Bush on oil prices.
“The US election has reportedly had some impact on oil price movements. We will monitor the extent to which the elections impact on oil prices,” Yusgiantoro told reporters. “As OPEC president, I have always expected oil prices to go down,” he said.
Commenting on the possibilities of a cut in output in the second quarter of 2005 at OPEC’s meeting next month in Cairo, Yusgiantoro said: “We do not know yet. We will meet to look at the price trend.” Current OPEC production is said to be two million barrels above the official production quota of 27 million barrels per day.
Asked if OPEC would still call on the United States to release its strategic petroleum reserves, he said: “It was our demand ... but that was before the election.”
Meanwhile, oil prices fell yesterday. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, was down 38 cents at $50.50 a barrel in early deals around 1700 GMT. US crude oil futures finished at $50.88 a barrel on Wednesday, up $1.26 on the day, after plunging to a low of $48.65 in volatile trading. In London, Brent North Sea crude for December dropped by 26 cents to $47.30 in late deals yesterday, after surging by $1.01 a day earlier. World crude oil prices jumped, fell and then soared again Wednesday on a market swept by speculation over the implications of Bush’s electoral victory.
The US Energy Department said Wednesday that crude oil inventories climbed by 6.3 million barrels to 289.7 million barrels in the week to Oct. 29.