Az olaj ára először 45$ fölött.

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1173424.htm
 
Oil price soars above $US45

 

Oil prices have shot above $US45 for the first time driven by limited exports from Iraq and the ongoing financial crisis at Russian oil giant Yukos, analysts said. New York's light, sweet crude for September delivery hit $US45.04 per barrel in early deals.

 

Traders said profit-taking later pushed the contract down 49 cents to $US44.35 from Monday's record-high close of $US44.84. Brent North Sea crude oil for September fell 31 cents to $41.25 per barrel in late trading in London, below Monday's record closing peak of $US41.56.

 

Unrest in Iraq kept the market on boil, said Oppenheimer market analyst Fadel Gheit. "The situation in Iraq is definitely totally out of control," Mr Gheit said. "As long as the Iraqi situation remains volatile, oil prices will remain high," adding that the market could be looking at prices reaching $US50 per barrel within two weeks.

 

Limited amounts of oil were being loaded on Tuesday from Iraq's southern export terminals, one day after pumping of crude was stopped due to a threatened attack by a Shiite Muslim militia. At the Basra terminal, exports were down to an average of 35,000 barrels per hour from a previous average of 80,000 barrels, said an official at the terminal on condition of anonymity. One tanker vessel was seen being loaded at the terminal. Iraq's southern oilfields have been the only source of exports since an attack on a key pipeline artery halted limited exports from the main northern oilfields last week.

 

Exports from the southern oilfields around Basra have been running at up to 1.7 million barrels per day but have suffered periodic disruption in recent months, at least some of it the result of sabotage attacks. On the trading floors, dealers were paying close attention also to developments at Russian oil titan Yukos and in Venezuela ahead of Sunday's referendum there which the opposition hopes will unseat controversial President Hugo Chavez. "The referendum in Venezuela is another important news development that needs to be monitored," Prudential Bache trader Tony Machacek said. There are fears of crippling strike action in the world's fifth-largest oil exporter should the outcome of the referendum be disputed.

 

The Yukos saga meanwhile continued to make headlines. The Russian justice ministry said late on Monday that its bailiffs had re-frozen the shares in Yukos' key subsidiary Yuganskneftegaz. The unit for about 60 per cent of the oil produced by Yukos and its future is critical for the survival of Russia's largest oil company, which faces a $US3.4 billion tax bill for 2000. "To be honest, the headlines on this issue are very confusing and nobody seems to know exactly what this actually means for Yukos and if this will actually affect supply from Russia or not," Mr Machacek said.