To download the full report (PDF document) please click here
SPECIAL PDF REPORT - WANG TAO TECH ANALYSIS Q1 PDF: Reuters' technical analyst Wang Tao expects spot gold's medium-trend downtrend that started at the Sept. 6, 2011 high of $1,920.30 to continue through the first quarter of the year, pushing prices down to $1,417 per ounce over the period. Falls also lie in store for base metals, Wang Tao added.
For a PDF of his first-quarter technical analyses on commodities and energy prices, please click here
COLUMN:
Frac factories upend the economics of US gas: John Kemp

--John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own--
LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Warm weather across the north-eastern United States and soaring output from fracked oil and gas fields have pushed gas prices down to some of the lowest levels for a decade, piling pressure on beleaguered domestic gas producers.
Front-month gas futures prices slumped 5.7 percent yesterday, to $2.77 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). Prices have fallen almost continuously since last summer and are now down nearly 45 percent since June 2011.
The US shale oil revolution has only just begun-Campbell
--Robert Campbell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.--
DENVER, Jan 12 (Reuters) - If independent U.S. oil producers are right, last year was only a taste of the transformation that is coming to America's oil patch.
Crude oil produced from "tight sands" and oil shales was instrumental in reversing the long decline of U.S. crude output. Some optimists are already forecasting huge increases by 2015, perhaps taking U.S. oil production up by some 2 million barrels per day to 8 million bpd by then.
MARKET NEWS:
Brent rises above $112 on supply fears; debt sales support
SINGAPORE, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose above $112 a barrel, boosted by worries over supply disruption from Nigeria, while easing fears on the euro zone debt crisis after positive demand in Spanish and Italian debt sales supported sentiment.
"Iran is perhaps a longer-term issue, meaning that it is not going to cause an immediate supply disruption," said Victor Shum of energy consulting firm Purvin & Gertz.
Euro edges up on short squeeze; lacks fresh buying
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The euro edged up after solid demand at a Spanish debt sale the previous day and hopes for a similar result at an Italian auction later triggered a squeeze of short positions, but investors were sceptical that the rally would be sustained.
"The euro has risen after yesterday's auctions were much better than expected but its only a correction so far and there's no serious fresh buying," said Manuel Oliveri, currency strategist at UBS in Zurich.
Euro, stocks up ahead of Italian debt sale
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - European shares and the single currency rose after positive comments on the region's outlook from the European Central Bank and the success of Spain's bond auction, with attention focused on Italy's first debt sale of the year.
"The euro has risen after (Thursday's) auctions were much better than expected but it's only a correction so far and there's no serious fresh buying," said Manuel Oliveri, currency strategist at UBS in Zurich.
TOP NEWS:
Inpex approves $34 bln Ichthys LNG project in Australia
TOKYO/PERTH, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Inpex Corp gave the go-ahead on Friday for a $34 billion liquefied natural gas export project that will make Australia the world's top exporter of the fuel by 2017, overtaking Qatar.
Inpex said the cost of the giant Ichthys project was higher than estimated by its partner, French energy company Total , and also 70 percent above initial figures calculated in 2008 because it now has more reliable information from the front-end engineering design (FEED).
Falkland Oil raises 48.5 mln stg to fund drilling
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Falkland Oil and Gas said it will be able to drill its preferred exploration wells in Britain's remote Falkland Islands after raising 48.5 million pounds ($74.3 million) through a placing.
The company is one of several British firms looking for oil off the South Atlantic islands as part of a closely-watched campaign that is due to ramp up later in January when a rig arrives to explore waters south of the territory.
Equatorial Guinea to sell crude to Swaziland -report
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea has agreed to supply Swaziland with crude oil, but the product will first need to be refined in neighbouring South Africa, the Business Report said on Friday.
Swaziland, which currently sources all of its fuel products from South Africa, does not have its own refinery.
Statoil's stops Snoehvit gas output in Barents due water leak
OSLO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Norwegian oil company Statoil said it has temporarily shut down production at its Snoehvit gas field in the Barents Sea after a water line ruptured at the onshore processing plant.
"We are working to clarify the cause of the water leakage and preparing the repair work, so that we can resume production quickly," Øivind Nilsen, production director for the plant, said in a statement.
Petrovietnam to pump oil from Uzbekistan -report
HANOI, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Vietnam's state oil and gas group, Petrovietnam, will pump oil from Uzbekistan as it move to step up overseas exploitation activities, a state-run newspaper said on Friday.
"Petrovietnam has been effectively conducting exploration work and is preparing to exploit oil in Kossor," the Petrovietnam-run Nang Luong Moi newspaper (www.petrotimes.vn) said in an online report.
CNOOC says starts work on 1st onshore shale gas block
BEIJING, Jan 13 (Reuters) - China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) has started seismic operations at its first onshore shale gas project, the near monopoly in China's offshore oil and gas development said, joining other state majors to scour for unconventional energy.
CNOOC Ltd , which runs CNOOC's oil and gas businesses, will undertake the exploration and development work in the 4,800-square-kilmetre block in eastern Anhui province, CNOOC said.
Japan finmin: no uncertainty on Iranian oil policy
TOKYO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Japan's finance minister said on Friday that there is no confusion over the government's policy of reducing Iranian oil imports in support of U.S. sanctions, rejecting suggestions from the cabinet's top spokesman that Japan isn't committed to take such steps.
Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Thursday in a joint press conference with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that Japan would take concrete steps to reduce oil imports from Iran as the U.S. tries to choke off oil revenue to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons.
India to buy Iran oil despite US sanctions -minister
NEW DELHI, Jan 12 (Reuters) - India will keep doing business with Tehran and sees no reason to seek a waiver from the United States that would protect buyers of Iranian oil from a fresh round of sanctions, a senior Indian cabinet minister said on Thursday.
"Why should we seek waiver from the U.S.? We have done business with Iran earlier and will continue to do business," the minister, who has knowledge of the matter but did not want to be named as the issue is confidential, told Reuters.
REFINERY NEWS:
India's IOC plans to shut diesel unit for 15 days
NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp (IOC) , the country's biggest oil refiner, plans to shut a diesel hydro treater at its 300,000 barrels per day (BPD) Panipat refinery for 15 days for maintenance in June-July, its head of refinery said on Friday.
IOC aims to process 56 million tonnes, or 1.12 million bpd, crude oil at it's directly-owned refineries in the new fiscal year starting April, R.K. Ghosh said.
Wynnewood reports crude unit shut at Oklahoma refinery
Jan 13 (Reuters) - Wynnewood Refining Co reported a shutdown of a crude unit at its 70,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, according to a notice filed with the U.S. National Response Center on Friday.
The facility was working to get the crude unit in operation, the filing showed.
Exxon reports wet gas compressor trip at Beaumont
Jan 13 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp reported a wet gas compressor trip on Thursday at its 344,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Beaumont, Texas, in a filing with regulators.
The filing with National Response Center on Friday said the refinery was bringing the compressor back online.
Shell working on unit at Sarnia, Ontario, refinery
CALGARY, Alberta, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Thursday it is conducting maintenance on a unit at its 75,000 barrel per day Sarnia, Ontario refinery, which will cause flaring for the next several days.
Shell posted the details on an information line. It did not specify which unit was being worked on at the site.
Conoco reports process upset, startup at Borger refinery
Jan 12 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips' on Thursday reported that a process upset and startup caused emissions at its 146,000 barrel-per-day joint venture refinery in Borger, Texas, according to a filing with state pollution regulators.
The startup would take place from Jan. 12 to Jan. 15, the filing with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said. It did not specify which units were starting up.
BEYOND THE HEADLINES:
UK oil and gas decline to halt as investment booms
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - British oil and gas tax revenues could rise by billions of pounds this year as high oil prices boost earnings and tempt operators into opening new fields after a decade of sharp declines, industry data and Reuters research showed on Thursday.
The past two years of investment have set the stage for a landmark shift in the North Sea, following exceptionally dismal data in 2011 when oil and gas production in the third quarter slumped at the fastest rate since records began in the mid-1990s, research by consultancy Wood Mackenzie suggested.
Iran embargo gathers support in Asia, Europe
TEHRAN, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. allies in Asia and Europe voiced support for Washington's drive to cut Iran's oil exports, although fear of self-inflicted pain is curbing enthusiasm for an embargo that Tehran says will not halt its nuclear programme.
The speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Larijani, said on Thursday that the nuclear programme was also too strong to be derailed by assassinations of nuclear scientists, a day after the fourth such killing.
Ottawa courts local anger with pipeline jibes
KITAMAAT VILLAGE, British Columbia, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Until Enbridge Inc proposed its Northern Gateway oil sands pipeline that would terminate near this picturesque coastal aboriginal community, the top topic of conversation was always basketball.
Teams compete against other native nations in the region and success on the court is a source of pride for the Haisla people in Kitamaat Village. In the community hall where hearings into the C$5.5 billion ($5.4 billion) project are taking place, trophies and banners trumpet numerous championship wins, most recently for the women's squad in 2011.
Iraq's Kurds see Exxon deal on track, no obstacles
ARBIL, Iraq, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp's deal with Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan government to develop six exploration blocks is on track and there are no obstacles to it proceeding, the region's Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami said on Thursday.
The U.S. company became the first oil major to move into the northern Kurdish region in mid-October when it signed an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Inside Oil (Americas) will not be published on Monday, January 16, as U.S. markets are closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day.
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