LONDON, 21 April 2005 — World oil prices rose yesterday after the latest weekly snapshot of US crude inventories data reignited worries about possible supply shortages amid strong economic growth in China, a major consumer of energy.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, gained 41 cents to $52.70 per barrel in electronic deals. The contract was due to expire yesterday. In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in June added 16 cents to $53.10 per barrel, higher than US futures owing to its May contract having already expired.
New York’s main contract ended $1.92 higher and Brent surged by $2.16 on Tuesday because of technical buying and gasoline production problems at several US oil refineries, dealers said. But prices remained well below the records of April 4, at $58.28 in New York and $57.65 in London, which were set on fears about possible supply shortages.
US stocks of crude oil and gasoline fell over the past week for the first time in nine weeks, according to government data released yesterday that may revive fears about a pre-summer supply crunch. The US Department of Energy (DoE) said crude stockpiles for the week ending April 15 fell by 1.8 million barrels to 318.9 million barrels, against Wall Street expectations for a rise of 1.5-2.0 million.
The private-sector American Petroleum Industry, compiling its own figures supplied by brokers, reported a bigger fall over the week of 5.35 million barrels to 319.99 million. The DoE also reported that gasoline stockpiles had fallen 1.5 million barrels to 211.6 million over the week, a potential concern before US drivers take to the roads for the summer holidays.
Meanwhile, Qatari Energy Minister Abdullah ibn Hamad Al-Attiyah said yesterday that the global oil market was “well-balanced”, adding it was premature to say what the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would do at its next meeting in June.