SINGAPORE, Aug 13 — US crude futures rose in early Asian trade today on renewed fears of supply disruption as Israel’s latest comments on stopping Iran’s disputed nuclear programme stoked tension in the region.
US oil rose 37 cents to US$93.24 a barrel by 2319 GMT, recouping most of the previous session’s losses. Brent crude gained 29 cents to US$113.24, after settling 27 cents lower at US$112.95.
Fundamentals
Egypt President Mursi (right) with Field Marshal Tantawi at a soldier graduation ceremony at the Egyptian military academy in Cairo in this July 17, 2012 file photo. — Reuters pic* Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that most threats to Israel’s security were “dwarfed” by the prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weaponry, which local media reports charged Tehran had stepped up its efforts to achieve.
* Syrian rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad need the protection of no-fly zones and safe havens patrolled by foreign forces near the borders with Jordan and Turkey, a Syrian opposition leader said.
* Egypt’s Islamist President Mohamed Mursi dismissed Cairo’s two top generals and quashed a military order that had curbed the new leader’s powers, in a move that further stamped his authority on the country and its army.
* Iraq’s Kurdistan region has delivered 116,000 barrels per day of crude (bpd) since it restarted oil pumping on August 7, Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said yesterday, adding the amount was below the 175,000 bpd agreed.
* An oil tanker collided with a US Navy ship near the Strait of Hormuz yesterday but no one was hurt and shipping traffic in the waterway, through which 40 per cent of the world’s seaborne oil exports pass, was not affected, officials said.
Markets news
* The euro posted its first weekly drop against the dollar and yen in three weeks on Friday as investors refocused on the uncertainty surrounding possible European Central Bank action to contain the debt crisis and deteriorating growth in the euro zone.
* The Standard & Poor’s 500 finished slightly higher on Friday to run its streak to six straight sessions, but activity was light and gains were slight as the market enters a seasonally slow period. — Reuters