Oil rises as U.S. faces winter without OPEC boost<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuters): Oil prices climbed in Asia on Tuesday as
\nOPEC held production steady and the world's top consumer, the
\nUnited States, faced the prospect of colder weather with thin
\nstocks.<\/p>\n
New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures last traded at
\n$34.65 per barrel at 0400 GMT, gaining another 18 cents after
\nending 45 cents up in New York trading.<\/p>\n
OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna on Monday ratified a widely
\nexpected agreement to keep output quotas unchanged rather than
\nincrease them for the fifth time this year.<\/p>\n
Ministers expect oil prices will soon fall within their $22-
\n$28 target range for OPEC's basket of crudes as the full impact
\nof the group's output rise this year of 3.7 million barrels per
\nday hits the market.<\/p>\n
\"We can only conclude that OPEC has more than fulfilled its
\nrole as a reliable oil supplier and that the true reasons for the
\ncurrently high prices lie behind a series of other factors,\" said
\nOPEC President Ali Rodriguez of Venezuela.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez told reporters that no more crude would come from
\nthe group this year.<\/p>\n
OPEC meets again on January 17, by which time, oil market
\nanalysts expect a year-on-year deficit in inventories to have
\nturned into a surplus.<\/p>\n
\"In this fourth and also the first quarter, the level of crude
\noil supplies will exceed the level of demand, leading
\ndirectionally to a stockbuild, in contrast to what would normally
\nbe a stockdraw this time of the year,\" said John Russel, managing
\ndirector of Bangkok-based Petroleum Economics Limited (PEL)
\nPacific.<\/p>\n
\"The year-on-year stock deficit is expected to disappear as we
\nmove through the mid-winter period.\" he said.<\/p>\n
But the immediate focus will be on low U.S. heating oil stocks
\nwhich will provide a thin buffer for the country in the event of
\na sharp cold snap.<\/p>\n
\"While stocks remain tight, it would be very difficult for
\nprices to move significantly lower,\" Russel said.<\/p>\n
Temperatures in the U.S. Northeast are expected to drop below
\nnormal this week and in the run-up to the Thanksgiving holiday on
\nNovember 23, according to Weather Services Corp.<\/p>\n
The North American region, where heating oil stocks are more
\nthan 40 percent below last year's levels, has so far this year
\nexperienced mainly above normal temperatures.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/oil-rises-as-us-faces-winter-without-opec-boost-1447893297",
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