BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
04/01/2010
Oil climbs to $80, Russia oil halt to Belarus supports
By Fayen Wong PERTH (Reuters) - Oil rose to $80 a barrel amid thin trading volumes on Monday, the first trading day of 2010, partly supported by news that Russia had halted oil supplies to Belarussian refineries. Russia has halted oil supplies to Belarussian refineries after failing to agree terms for 2010, traders said on Sunday, threatening a repeat of a dispute which disrupted supplies to elsewhere in Europe three years ago. Transit flows to other parts of Europe have not so far been affected, but Germany and Poland are closely watching the stand-off after supplies to some of their major refineries were cut during a similar row between Moscow and Minsk in January 2007. "The Russia oil exports issue is not a big concern at the moment but it's still adding to the market's bullish sentiments," said Clarence Chu, an oil options trader at Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. U.S. crude for February delivery rose 64 cents to $80 a barrel by 0431 GMT. London Brent crude rose 65 cents to $78.58. "There were a few attempts to push oil to $80 last week before a sell off and I think we're still seeing the same momentum driving up prices today," Chu said. Oil finished the year above $79 a barrel on Thursday, climbing a whopping 78 percent in 2009 and notching the biggest annual gain since 1999, when output cuts by producers helped revive prices from lows near $10 a barrel. However, with crude stockpiles in the United States still hovering above a five-year average, some analysts and traders have questioned whether oil prices would soon be due for a correction. "Market participants are still pondering the conundrum of whether or not a sustainable recovery is actually underway," MF Global said in a note on Thursday. Investors are set to take cues from the U.S. manufacturing data later on Monday to gauge the strength of the economy, while monthly employment figures in the first week of the new year will keep investors focused on what is likely to be 2010's reality -- the economy's struggle to recover. On the data front, the main event will be Friday's report from the Labor Department on U.S. non-farm payrolls in December. Economists polled by Reuters have forecast that payrolls shed 20,000 jobs in the final month of 2009, compared with just 11,000 lost in November. Separately, Japanese stocks led Asian equities higher on Monday and the U.S. dollar climbed against major currencies on optimism that U.S. employment figures later in the week will reflect a sustained economic recovery.
Source:
Archive
Subscribe Daily Newsletter:
Belarus News and Analysis Donate:
