Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer
HOUSTON, Dec. 13 -- Energy prices continued to slip Dec. 12 because of warm weather and market uncertainties about what ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will do at their Dec. 14 meeting in Nigeria.
In its Dec. 13 report, Paris-based International Energy Agency said oil supplies fell by 50,000 b/d to 85.4 million b/d during November, with OPEC reductions countering higher supplies from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.
IEA cut non-OPEC production estimates by 40,000 b/d in 2006 and by 115,000 b/d for 2007. Non-OPEC growth averaged 650,000 b/d this year and is expected to be up by 1.7 million b/d to 52.6 million b/d in 2007. North America, the former Soviet Union, Brazil, Angola, and Sudan drive 2007 growth, IEA said.
Meanwhile, OPEC output fell 555,000 b/d in November to 28.9 million b/d, on lower production from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Iraq, and Venezuela. Effective spare OPEC production capacity is 2.4 million b/d, which excludes disrupted Iraqi and Nigerian supply.
Energy prices
The January contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes fell 20¢ to $62.02/bbl Dec. 12 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The February contract lost 37¢ to $61.99/bbl. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., was down 20¢ to $61.03/bbl. Heating oil for January dipped by 0.19¢ to $1.72/gal. Unleaded gasoline for the same month lost 0.38¢ to $1.60/gal. January natural gas inched up by 0.3¢ to $7.43/MMbtu.
In London, the January IPE contract for North Sea Brent crude lost 32¢ to $61.52/bbl. Gas oil for December was unchanged at $540/tonne.
The average price for OPEC's basket of 11 benchmark crudes was down 33¢ to $57.41/bbl.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected].
