Oil prices pushing closer to $100

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157002.html


Global oil prices are pushing closer to $100 a barrel as the cold weather around the world has raised demand.

Benchmark Brent crude closed 48 cents down at more than $93 on Friday after hitting nearly $95 earlier in the day, the highest level since October 2008.

The rally in Brent crude is partly due to the severe cold snap in Europe, with more freezing temperatures and snow predicted in parts of Europe over the weekend expected to boost fuel demand.

Meanwhile, a group of OPEC ministers is scheduled to meet in Egypt this weekend to discuss oil production and prices, but analysts predict more gains for oil prices in the coming week.

"The reality is that the growth of emerging markets is driving up oil prices, but oil prices are not restraining emerging economies in any significant way," Reuters quoted Sara Johnson, senior research director of global economics at IHS Global Insights in Lexington, Massachusetts, as saying.

Higher prices can reduce demand and boost production costs, but the impact will not be that great as many countries have fuel subsidies, which ease manufacturing, transportation, and consumer costs, she stated.

'Oil market to face supply crisis'

Iran's OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/154448.html

Iran's OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi says the price of crude oil is undervalued, noting that global markets are close to a crisis of uncertain oil supply.

Khatibi told Mehr news agency on Tuesday that he believes the world faces great uncertainties in security of energy supply as the crude prices are set to hit $100 in the near future.

"The world is concerned about the security of energy supply due to the anticipation of a drop in global oil production and a drop in the supply from non-OPEC countries," the official said.

Talking ahead of the 158th meeting of the OPEC oil ministers slated for December 11 in Ecuador, Khatibi said recent studies indicate that in the mid-term perspective the crude oil prices will soar in the global market.

Asked how he saw the oil price fluctuations in 2011, he underlined, "The oil price of $100 price is quite normal and natural in short term."

Khatibi added that the increase in the oil prices still did not reflect the fall in value of the dollar over recent months, saying, "Global oil prices have not increased in a real way compared to previous years."

"In recent years some of non-OPEC countries have continuously oversupplied the market, but this will not be possible in the coming years because of a drop in production," Iran's OPEC governor went on to say.

He further said that it is even possible that the OPEC members decide to decrease their output in the mid-term run which will cause major concerns over the stable supply of the crude oil in the energy market.

Earlier in November, Khatibi said that the world economy is in a position to absorb an oil price of $100, underlining that the oil companies find a price range of $70 to $90 suitable for investments in oil resources

"One of the solutions for securing oil supply to the market is to increase investments in the upstream oil industry and the price hike in oil will lead to more investment in this sector."

In November, OPEC revised upward its world oil demand growth estimates for both 2010 and 2011, saying it was penciling in world oil demand growth of 1.32 million barrels per day (bpd), or 1.6 percent, to 85.78 million bpd for 2010, compared with 1.3 percent previously.

A report by the US Energy Information Administration published in early-November indicated that crude exports by Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter and OPEC's second-largest oil producer, stood at around $59 billion in the first 10 months of 2010.

Iran holds around 10 percent of world oil reserves. In 2009, Iran's revenue from oil exports reached $69.1 billion and it exported approximately 3.8 million barrels per day.

In the 157th meeting of the organization in October, OPEC members elected Iran to hold the organization's presidency as of January 2011, a first for the Islamic Republic.

Freezing temperatures in Europe and the US, along with a weaker dollar, pushed oil prices to a two-year high above $90 a barrel on Monday.

Global wheat supply forecast slashed

Wheat prices have climbed sharply as the latest official US
predictions ‎of global output undercut previous predictions.


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138497§ionid=3510213


The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has sharply slashed its forecast for 2010-11 world wheat production after revising its crop outlook for Russia.

On Thursday, the USDA cut its forecast for global wheat output by 2.3% to 645.73 million tons. That is below recent estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which saw the crop at 651 million tons, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Estimations for wheat production have been cut repeatedly since the middle of the summer, when the severity of record-setting heat and drought in the former Soviet Union became apparent.

"The Russian drought has changed the landscape of agriculture for the next 18 months at least," said Dan Basse, president of AgResource Company, an agricultural research firm. "There will be plenty of volatility in the months to come."

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had already warned that this year's grain harvest would be worse than previously thought.

Record drought in Russia has prompted the country's prime minister to place a temporary ban on grain exports until the end of the year.

"In connection with the unusually high temperatures and the drought, I consider it right to impose a temporary ban on the export from Russia of grain and other products produced from grain," Putin told a government meeting on Thursday.

The announcement has sent wheat prices soaring on US exchanges and caused double-digit gains in Europe.

Meanwhile, FAO has cut its global wheat production forecast for 2010 due to the impact of unfavorable weather on crops in recent weeks.

The global wheat production forecast is now expected to be 651 million tons, down from the 676 million tons anticipated in June, the Rome-based agency said in a statement.

However, the FAO pointed out that global inventories are sufficient, thanks to two consecutive years of record crops, to cover the anticipated production shortfall.

"Despite production problems in some leading exporting countries, the world wheat market remains far more balanced than at the time of the world food crisis in 2007/2008 and fears of a new global food crisis are not justified at this point," it stated.

US warships cause anger in Costa Rica

The United States maintains a complex web of military facilities and functions in Latin America and the Caribbean


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=133377§ionid=351020706



Costa Rica has allowed 46 US warships and 7,000 Marines to enter the country despite objection by the opposition parties, which describe the move as "illegal."

Costa Rican opposition parties denounced the decision of the Legislative Assembly, describing it as "illegal" and "in violation of national sovereignty," Presna Latina reported Saturday.

The decision grants US troops permission to stay in Costa Rica from July 1 to December 31 to fight drug trafficking.

The Costa Rican government, however, argues that the combat capability of the US warships, helicopters and marines is disproportionate to the threat caused by drug trafficking.

The permission is tantamount "to giving a blank check" to the US forces, Luis Fishman, deputy of the Unidad Social Cristiana said.

"We cannot support an illegal act, we won't allow the Constitution to be broken," Fishman added.

Frente Amplio legislator Jose Maria Villalta expressed his opposition to the decision, saying it allows US troops to "enjoy freedom of movement and the right to carry out the activities needed to fulfill their mission."

The legislator also said Washington views the region part of its sphere of influence where it seeks to adopt a "strategy of complete dominance."

Opposition parties have not ruled out the possibility of taking action against the decision as they say it violates an agreement reached a decade ago with Washington that only allows the entry of coast guard vessels -- not warships -- into the country.

Saudis conduct 18 airstrikes on northern Yemen

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116889&sectionid=351020206


Houthi fighters say the Saudi army has conducted 18 airstrikes in the latest attacks along the border of northern Yemen.

The Shia Houthis said late on Saturday that hundreds of Saudi rockets and mortar shells were fired into villages in Sa'ada province overnight.

On Friday, the Houthis said a number of advances by government forces had been repelled and several tanks had been destroyed.

Their leader, Abdel Malik al-Houthi, posted video footage on the group's website dismissing Yemeni government allegations of his death. The video showed al-Houthi to be in good health, contrary to reports suggesting he had been seriously injured.

The Houthis say they are fighting to defend civilians being targeted in coordinated operations by Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Both countries deny the accusation.

Yemen launched an offensive against the Houthis in Sa'ada back in August — three months before Riyadh joined in the attacks.

In early November, Saudi troops undertook their largest mobilization since the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War and began overtly attacking the Houthi fighters from the ground and the air.

The Houthis, who until recently controlled a large swathe of mountain territory in Yemen's northwestern province of Sa'ada, have been under a sustained military assault by Yemen ground and air forces since August.

Meanwhile, Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan said on Saturday that the Saudi military had recovered the bodies of 20 of the 26 Saudi soldiers listed as missing in the fighting since November.

On January 12, he had put the death toll for Saudi troops at 82.

Earlier this week, the southern region commander, General Ali Zaid al-Khawaji, said that 113 soldiers had died and that several more had most likely been captured by the Houthis, Saudi Arabia's official news agency SPA reported.

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