Berita Mutakhir Dari BBC! Oil prices break through $93 mark

Oil prices have risen to fresh highs due to a combination of the weak dollar, supply concerns in Mexico and continued tensions in northern Iraq.

In early Asian trading, US light crude passed $93 a barrel for the first time, hitting $93.20 before easing back to $92.88 by early afternoon in Europe.

London's Brent also hit a fresh high of $90 before pulling back to $89.58.

Some analysts believe oil prices will hit $100 a barrel before the end of 2007 if current pressures persist.

'Geopolitical tensions'

An array of factors has forced prices up, analysts said.

In past months there also have been concerns about the stop-start violence in Nigeria's main oil producing region, the international community's unresolved nuclear dispute with Iran, and concerns over heating supplies for the US winter.

It looks like everyone wants to sell the dollar and buy other assets Christoph Eibl, Tiberius Asset Management

At the same time, the US currency has fallen to a fresh low against the euro, making oil - which is priced in dollars - attractive to buy, analysts said.

Suggestions that the US Federal Reserve may cut interest rates further when it meets later this week has further hit confidence in the dollar and pushed money towards oil.

"It looks like everyone wants to sell the dollar and buy other assets, whatever assets whether they be equities or commodities," said Christoph Eibl, head of trading at Tiberius Asset Management.

In recent days, prices have spiked further on worries about disruption to a fifth of Mexican oil output following a tropical storm in the Caribbean.

Earlier in the month, prices were driven by fears that Turkey may carry out an extensive ground assault against Kurdish rebels in Iraq.

US light crude broke through the $92 a barrel price for the first time on Friday and prices have now risen 30% since the start of August.

Opec action

Efforts by producers' group Opec to restrain prices by agreeing to lift production from 1 November have so far failed to calm the market.

Taking inflation into account, prices are still below the peak of $101 a barrel seen in 1980.

But analysts are now bracing themselves for oil to approach the nominal $100 mark in the next few weeks should current conditions continue.

"I personally don't believe we will see prices at $100 a barrel but it is not impossible given the situation," said David Moore, a commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7066921.stm

Published: 2007/10/29 13:17:03 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Catatan: Sanksi terbaru Amerika terhadap Iran sengaja tidak di sentuh oleh BBC dalam laporan ini, walhal itu merupakan berita yang terkemuka melonjakkan harga minyak di pasaran! Ada udang di sebalik batu?

Berita Mutakhir! Dari Wallstreet Journal...

Options Bets on Crude Could Pull Prices Higher

By Matt Chambers

Word Count: 359

The wagering over $100 oil has begun in earnest.

Oil prices, which rose briefly above $90 a barrel Friday, are more likely to head toward $100 than $80 in the next month, according to the number of bets placed by options traders on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The large number of options held to buy crude at $100 a barrel could also act as a pull on prices toward that level.

Maka jadilah Pengguna Yang Bijak... Cetak posting "Adakah Anda Seorang Pengguna Yang Bijak" dan sebarkan kepada saudara mara dan para sahabat taulan... terima kasih.

Adakah Anda Seorang Pengguna Yang Bijak?

Keputusan perlumbaan F1 di Interlagos, Brazil memberikan kemenangan kepada pelumba dari Team Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen, dan sekaligus menjadi Pemandu Juara F1 tahun 2007 dengan kemenangan hanya semata melebihi Lewis Hamilton dan Fernando Alonso, kedua-duanya dari Team McLaren.

Keputusan tersebut telah mencetuskan rayuan dari Team McLaren kerana pemenang di tempat ke 4,5 dan 6 di tuduh menggunakan petrol sejuk (cool petrol) sehingga mendapat kelebihan dari segi ‘performance’!

Petrol bersifat tetap ketika berada pada suhu 60°F. Dalam keadaan sejuk, yakni di bawah 60°F, petrol akan menjadi ‘pekat’ dari segi kepadatan (denser), sehingga memerlukan masa yang singkat untuk di isi dan berkelebihan isian.

Petrol sejuk (cool petrol) juga memberikan ‘advantage’ pada ‘performance’ kenderaan anda antara 5 hingga 10 kuasa kuda (horsepower)!

Bagaimana pula di negara kita yang keadaan suhunya senantiasa melebehi 60°F?

Kita mesti menjadi pengguna yang bijak! Isi petrol kenderaan anda hanya pada waktu malam atau waktu pagi ketika suhu persekitaran masih sejuk (cool). Jangan isi petrol kenderaan anda antara jam 11 pagi hingga 5 petang!

Di Canada, stesyen-stesyen petrol telah menggunakan sejenis ‘nozzle’ yang dapat mengesan suhu pada petrol yang di pam keluar dari tangki bawah tanah dan menyesuaikan jumlah isi padu (volume) yang di jual kepada pelanggan sehingga kedua-dua pihak, penjual dan pembeli tidak di rugikan!

Di Amerika, para persatuan pengguna telah menggubal undang-undang dan mengemukakannya kepada Senate untuk memaksa syarikat-syarikat petrol melaksanakan pemasangan ‘nozzle’ yang serupa di setiap stesyen petrol. (Sila lawat www.oilwatchdog.org untuk berita mutakhir)

Dengan harga petrol yang tidak mungkin akan turun pada bila-bila masa, para pengguna perlu bersikap bijak dalam menggunakan petrol.

Pada masa yang sama, Pemerintah Malaysia, melalui Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna mesti desak para syarikat petrol untuk melaksanakan pemasangan ‘nozzle’ khas seperti yang terdapat di Canada dan (tidak lama lagi) di Amerika.

Petronas Dagangan Berhad mesti menjadi syarikat petrol yang pertama melaksanakan sistem ‘smart nozzle’ ini di seluruh negara!