By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 10 -- Crude futures prices fell from a record high Aug. 9 on the New York market after the head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reiterated that members are committed to providing additional supplies.
Ahmad Fahad Al-Ahmad Al�Sabah, the OPEC conference president and secretary general as well as Kuwait's energy minister, said the recent trend of escalating oil prices is the result of geo-political tensions and refinery outages in key consuming counties. He said current production by the 10 OPEC countries subject to quotas, excluding Iraq, is estimated at 28.3 million b/d, while total OPEC production—including Iraq—is close to 30.4 million b/d.
Meanwhile, US officials on Aug. 9 eased worries of a heating oil crunch with the forecast of larger stockpiles of distillate fuel on the East Coast this winter despite growing demand.
However, security concerns in Saudi Arabia, tensions in Iran, and a spate of US refinery problems kept crude futures prices above $63/bbl on the New York market.
Energy prices
The September contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes fell by 87¢ to $63.07/bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The October position retreated by 74¢ to $64.16/bbl.
On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., decreased to $63.08/bbl on Aug. 9 from $63.95/bbl in the previous session.
Gasoline for September delivery lost 3.46¢ to $1.82/gal. Heating oil for the same month was down by 1.28¢ to $1.78/gal on NYMEX.
The September natural gas contract declined by 3.5¢ to $8.65/MMbtu, "pressured by weaker crude oil prices and revised, more moderate weather forecasts for this weekend and next week," said analysts at Enerfax Daily.
In London, the September contract for North Sea Brent crude lost 72¢ to $61.98/bbl on the International Petroleum Exchange. Gas oil for August delivery was unchanged at $558.50/tonne
The average price for OPEC's basket of 11 benchmark crude slipped by 12¢ to $56.43/bbl on Aug. 9.
