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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:
Iran oil sanctions are an unpredictable gamble: John Kemp
--John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own--
LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - If war is merely the continuation of policy by other means, aimed at compelling our enemy to do our will, as military strategist Carl von Clausewitz maintained, then sanctions are a form of warfare without overt fighting.
For the last few years, Iran has been locked in an intensifying, undeclared war with Israel, the United States and their allies in Europe and the Middle East.
MARKET NEWS:
Brent rises above $113 after blast in Iran
SINGAPORE, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose above $113, reversing losses as a blast in Tehran added to concerns of supply disruption from Iran, overshadowing worries about demand growth due to Europe's debt crisis.
"The market could be reacting to headlines of the blast and further price gains are possible during London and New York trading time, depending on Iran's reaction," said Ken Hasegawa, a derivatives manager with brokerage Newedge in Tokyo.
Euro steadies but seen vulnerable as auctions loom
LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The euro steadied against the dollar but looked likely to stay subdued with investors cautious ahead of Spanish and Italian debt sales later in the week that could trigger a sell-off in riskier assets if they go badly.
"The overall picture for the euro is very negative. If the (German) auction goes well that would be seen as a positive, but my interpretation is that very strong demand signals a very high level of risk aversion, with buying into core Europe," he said.
European debt fears pressure euro, stocks
LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Europe's persistent debt crisis kept the single currency and global stocks under pressure, threatening to overshadow a slight improvement in the economic outlook that has driven a solid rally in world equity markets.
"It's really the time to allocate more funds to equities. Current prices represent a historic buying opportunity in terms of asset allocation," said Eric Galiègue, head of Valquant, in Paris.
TOP NEWS:
Saudi oil output nearing capacity limit
DUBAI/RIYADH, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is nearing its comfortable operational production limits and may struggle to do much to make up for shortages that arise from new sanctions imposed on Iran by the West, Gulf-based sources said.
The kingdom, now pumping just under record rates of 10 million barrels per day, has poured billions of dollars into its vast oil fields, which on paper should ensure it has the ability to ramp up to 12.5 million bpd.
China 2012 crude oil demand to grow faster - CPCIF
BEIJING, Jan 11 (Reuters) - China's apparent crude oil consumption could accelerate in 2012 from a year earlier due to ongoing strong demand for energy and chemical products, forecasts from an industry association showed on Wednesday.
The China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation estimated that apparent crude consumption will increase 5.3 percent year on year to 480 million tonnes in 2012, or 9.6 million barrels per day, compared with its forecast of a rise of around 3.5 percent in 2011.
Australia's Santos shuts oil field ahead of cyclone
PERTH, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Australia's Santos said on Wednesday it shut oil production from its Mutineer-Exeter oil field offshore northwest Australia ahead of Tropical Cyclone Heidi.
The Mutineer-Exeter field produces 8,000 barrels of oil per day, according to Santos' website.
Australia's Woodside shuts oil fields ahead of cyclone
PERTH, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Australia's Woodside Petroleum said on Wednesday it was shutting production from several oil fields off the northwest coast of Australia as Cyclone Heidi hit the region.
"In response to Tropical Cyclone Heidi Woodside has shut-in production from the Cossack, Wanaea, Lambert and Hermes oil fields on the North West Shelf and the Vincent oil field off the North West Cape," Woodside said in an emailed statement.
Enbridge says investigating leak in Gulf of Mexico
Jan 10 (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc said it is investigating a report of a natural gas leak in its West Cameron Block 275 in the Gulf of Mexico.
The company, best known as an operator of the main export pipelines for Canadian crude oil, said it spotted a three-foot diameter patch of bubbles on the surface of the water near the Stingray natural gas pipeline.
Bolivia to hike energy outlays in 2012
LA PAZ, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Bolivian state energy firm YPFB will invest $1.32 billion in the energy sector this year, nearly doubling private contributions and pushing overall industry spending up 63 percent versus 2011, the company said on Tuesday.
For the first time in more than a decade, YPFB and its subsidiaries will fund the majority of annual investments, expected to total a record of around $2.05 billion in 2012. Leftist President Evo Morales nationalized the energy industry in 2006, dampening interest among some foreign investors.
Encana results show early promise for Tuscaloosa shale
NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Encana has been encouraged by early drilling results in Louisiana's undeveloped Tuscaloosa Marine shale deposit, a company official said, a promising sign for the area as companies race to find the next big U.S. shale play.
Geologists have compared Tuscaloosa to the prolific Eagle Ford shale deposit in Texas -- one of the shale plays that has helped reinvigorate the U.S. oil sector over the past two years -- as they share similar characteristics and age.
U.S. oil supply growth to slow in 2013-EIA
WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Despite the shale boom, U.S. oil production growth is seen slowing in 2013 after posting big gains over the past few years, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday.
U.S. oil output is expected to climb just 80,000 barrels per day to 5.82 million bpd in 2013, down from the 170,000 bpd increase estimated for this year, the EIA said in its monthly report.
REFINERY NEWS:
Conoco reports external roof collapse at Westlake refinery
Jan 11 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips' 239,400 barrel per day (bpd) Westlake, Louisiana, refinery said an external floating roof had collapsed on Tuesday due to heavy rains and that it was performing maintenance on unidentified units, according to a filing with regulators.
The filing with the National Response Center on Wednesday said foam was being applied to the material in the tank to minimize the ongoing release of volatile organic compounds to the atmosphere.
Citgo begins Corpus Christi refinery overhaul -agency
HOUSTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Citgo Petroleum Corp's 163,000 barrel per day (bpd) Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery began a planned overhaul on Tuesday by shutting a crude distillation unit in the East Plant, according to the Local Emergency Planning Committee.
Work in the refinery's West Plant will begin Wednesday with unit shutdowns, according to the Corpus Christi LEPC.
Exxon says Torrance refinery normalizing operations
HOUSTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp's 149,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) Torrance, California, refinery was normalizing operations on Tuesday after overnight power outages caused the shutdown of some units, the company said.
Production on other units was slowed due to the power outages, Exxon said in a statement.
Valero says Meraux FCC shut due to Alky unit work
HOUSTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit was shut at Valero Energy Corp's 125,000 barrel per day (bpd) Meraux, Louisiana, refinery while an overhaul is done on an associated alkylation unit, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.
No work is planned on the 37,000 bpd FCC while the alkylation unit is being overhauled, said Valero's Bill Day.
Hess reports emissions at Port Reading, NJ, refinery
Jan 10 (Reuters) - Hess Corp reported emissions at its 70,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Reading, New Jersey, refinery, in a filing with state regulators on Tuesday.
"Facility exceeded permit limit for total suspended solids in the facility scrubber," the filing showed.
BEYOND THE HEADLINES:
EU ministers plan Iran oil embargo, IAEA team to visit
TEHRAN/VIENNA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Europe and Japan moved ahead on Tuesday in planning for punitive cuts in oil imports from Iran, where a senior official dismissed Western anger at news Tehran is enriching uranium deep underground as cover for ulterior motives.
A day after Iran confirmed the start of enrichment at a mountain bunker near the holy city of Qom - and sentenced an American to death for spying - the European Union brought forward a ministerial meeting that is likely to match new U.S. measures to hamper Iran's oil exports.
Israel to secure gas needs, then export -minister
JERUSALEM, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Israel will allow companies to export natural gas from newly discovered fields in the eastern Mediterranean but only after it secures enough to meet its own energy needs for at least a few decades, Energy Minister Uzi Landau said.
Gas production is set to soar in Israel following the discovery of some of the world's largest offshore reserves, but what to do with the gas has become a matter of debate. Exploration companies have been lobbying hard to be able to sell gas abroad.
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