Gerard Burg
Gerard Burg
barrier dollars next question
It's not out of the question that 80 dollars could be the next barrier if there's long-term damage.
appears city coming energy few further increases line main next positive rise texas
The big positive there was that refinery utilization appears to be on the rise now. The main one coming back on line was the BP Texas City refinery, so with that one coming back we should see further increases over the next few weeks.
capacity demand expect next squeeze strong
We've still got a capacity squeeze from that area. Demand has been very strong short-term and we expect it will be strong next year.
barrier easily extent full given next question weeks
We're now in wait-and-see mode. It could be weeks before we know the full extent (of damage), but given how easily $70 was reached, it's not out of the question that $80 could be the next barrier if there's long-term damage.
certainly forecasts last next oil picture seen stocks sufficient suggest weather week
Certainly the fundamental picture doesn't look particularly strong. Stocks in the U.S. are still very high, and while forecasts I've seen for weather for next week suggest it should be considerably colder, heating oil stocks look as if they should be sufficient to last through the winter.
concerns led less positions reduction resulting spot support
These concerns also led to a reduction in speculative long positions in the futures market, resulting in less speculative support for spot prices.
among consensus crude direction oil opposite taken view
Crude inventories went in the opposite direction to the consensus view among analysts. That's taken crude oil up a little higher.
capacity crude ease expanding expected exporting higher intention likely maintain oil petroleum prices strength support
Prices are expected to ease in 2007 as expanding refinery capacity reduces some of the bottleneck in that sector. However, the likely strength of oil demand, as well as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' intention to support higher prices will maintain crude oil prices at historically high levels.
barometer conditions copper fall market perceived prices remove support therefore
Copper is often perceived to be the barometer for market conditions and therefore a significant fall in copper prices could remove speculative support from other metals.
copper couple deficit last market mines opinion people seen thinking weeks whether
What we've seen over the last couple of weeks with disruptions at copper mines has narrowed the opinion of whether the market is going to be in deficit or surplus. More and more people are thinking it's going to be in deficit this year.
decisions impact key level main market obviously production steel
Obviously the main uncertainty in the steel market is the level of production from China. It's really the key uncertainty and that will impact on decisions made by steelmakers.
build capacity maximum past usual warmer weather
With refineries ramping up at maximum capacity and with the weather having been warmer than usual over the past two weeks, the build was not that much of a surprise.
assets commodity expected funds increase pension recent returns
With commodity returns outperforming other assets in recent years, pension and hedge funds are expected to increase investments in commodity markets.
bit cool impact oil prolonged spell until
There is a bit of a time-lag in all this, but a prolonged cool spell should see a real impact on heating oil stocks, which until now have been robust.