OSLO: In Norway, more than 300 oil service workers went on strike as wage talks broke down, hitting operations of five large subcontractors to the domestic oil and gas industry.
Oil prices jumped over 1 per cent today, pushed by a reported draw in USA crude inventories and an oil service worker strike in Norway which hit output.
Non-OPEC members have also been raising production, with Russian Federation achieving record highs of above 11 million barrels per day. While few expect the bank to raise rates, any hints at a rise in December could affect the USA dollar. “We are still very well supplied for this time of year”, said Tariq Zahir, trader in crude oil spreads at Tyche Capital Advisors in NY.
Some market participants also expressed surprise with the crude draw announced by the EIA when crude imports as a whole rose and refinery runs fell.
Japan’s crude imports rose 0.5 per cent in August from the same month a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said today, reaching 3.38 million barrels per day last month. The Energy Information Administration will release the data later Wednesday.
“We may be starting see a change of attitude in Riyadh”, said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts.
Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock-the benchmark gasoline contract-rose 2.2% to $1.39 a gallon.
