WTI hat heute mit einer Tagesschwankungsbreite von 0,50 $/b gegenüber gestern nur geringfügig höher geschlossen.


close 22.2.02

CRUDE OIL FUTR Apr02 $/b 21.070 (0.15)
HEATING OIL FUTR Mar02 cts/g 54.61 (-0.340)
GASOLINE Fut. Mar 02 cts/g 58.68 (+0.44 )

Brent FUT APR $/b 20,37 (unverändert)

02/22 16:03
Crude Oil Rises After Norway Says It Will Maintain Supply Cuts
By Stephen Voss


New York, Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose after Norway's oil minister said his country will maintain production limits through June as part of an OPEC strategy to bolster prices.

Norway and other non-OPEC producers including Russia and Mexico began restricting supply at the start of the year. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which also reduced daily output, orchestrated the reductions to counter a 26 percent plunge in prices last year.

``Typically, the Norwegians sit on the fence a bit longer,'' said Jan Stuart, head of global research at ABN Amro Inc. in New York. Norway's decision to announce its second-quarter policy now ``probably means they've been told by OPEC that OPEC won't change its own production.''

Crude oil for April delivery rose 12 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $21.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices were down 3.1 percent for the week.

Oil has rallied 6.2 percent since the production-cutting agreement took effect on Jan. 1.

In London, Brent crude oil for April settlement closed unchanged at $20.37 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange.

``There is nothing in the market today that would give us reason to suspend our production cuts,'' Norwegian Oil Minister Einar Steensnaes said in a telephone interview.

OPEC will review its production quotas at a March 15 meeting, though several OPEC officials have already said the group's output ceiling probably won't change. Russian officials so far have not indicated whether to continue export cuts beyond March 31.

Higher prices will require both restraint from producers and increasing demand, Stuart said.

``Demand is growing from the second quarter onward,'' he said. ``I don't expect it to really show until March or April or May.''

Russian Meeting

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and oil company officials ended a meeting on Wednesday without making mention of second-quarter shipments. Traders had expected some signal of Russian export policy.

Russian oil companies, including AO Yukos Oil Co., the country's second-largest oil producer, plan to raise output this year.

Russia, Norway, Mexico, Oman and Angola agreed in December to take 462,500 barrels a day off the market starting Jan. 1, while OPEC promised a 1.5 million-barrel cut. The targeted reductions equaled about 2.5 percent of daily world supply.

``It would be valuable if Russia, in the same way as Norway, Mexico, Oman and Angola, continues to join in the effort to stabilize oil prices with OPEC nations,'' Steensnaes said. He said he has yet to speak with Russian officials.

Market Share

Rising exports from Russia might spur a fight for market share between OPEC and other producers, analysts said. Russia has said it plans to keep raising its oil production as well as its share of the world market. Its agreement with OPEC was to limit crude oil exports, not production.

Norway reserves the right to reverse its decision to limit supplies if ``the market situation should change through an oil price that is too high or too low or other factors,'' Steensnaes said.

Speculation that the U.S. military may soon turn its attention to Iraq has helped underpin prices this week. Military action in a major oil exporting country usually boosts prices, though in this case, other oil producers have enough spare production capacity to make up for any disruption in Iraqi exports, traders said.

Jet Fuel Purchase

President George W. Bush has labeled Iraq, Iran and North Korea an ``axis of evil,'' leading to speculation they may become targets in the U.S. war on terrorism.

The U.S. Department of Defense is buying 1.5 million barrels of jet fuel for its bases in the Middle East to bolster its military operations in the region, Reuters reported citing unidentified Defense officials. An unidentified Oslo broker said the purchase was not routine, the news agency said.

``It could make the market more volatile, more nervous,'' said David Becker, energy derivatives trading manager at Citibank NA in New York. In recent months, U.S. purchases of oil ``shipped over from Iraq have been dramatically reduced, so I don't know how much more this could affect us.''





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