- Title: USA/IRAQ: WORLD OIL PRICES CRASH AFTER U.S. AND BRITISH AIR STRIKES ON IRAQ
- Date: 18th December 1998
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 17, 1998) (RTN) 1. SLV EXTERIOR MERCANTILE EXCHANGE 0.04 2. CLOSE UP MERCANTILE EXCHANGE SIGN 0.07 3. HAS ON-FLOOR TRADING IN OIL PIT (4 SHOTS) 0.34 4. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) WILLIAM BUFF, INDEPENDENT OIL ANALYST, WILLIAM H. BROWN "Clearly there is some risk that oil exports could be disrupted, there's no question that Iraq is a major influence on the market. I don't assume that any of the facilities will be damaged - there is a possibility that Saddam Hussein may decide to end the exports himself as a further demonstration of non-cooperation" 0.55 5. SCU ON-FLOOR TRADING IN OIL PIT / INDEX BOARD OF CRUDE OIL PRICES (6 SHOTS) 1.26 UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION IN IRAQ (FILE) (RTN) 6. LV/SLV PAN OIL FACILITIES (5 SHOTS) 1.50 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 2nd January 1999 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES/ UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, IRAQ
- City:
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA948TQHY9QAJTG6ILEGSSIG56Z
- Story Text: World oil prices crashed to earth on Thursday
(December 17), with reports Iraqi crude exports escaped
disruption from U.S.missile attacks and three key producers
meeting in Madrid came up with no new measures to tackle a
vast supply glut.
Oil prices collapsed on Thursday (December 17) as
neither the Anglo-American bombing of Iraq nor a producer
summit in Madrid looked likely to stem a worldwide oil glut
any time soon.
The price of bellwether January crude oil futures on the
New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) plunged $1.35 to settle
at $11.03 in regular trading, more than erasing the gains of
the previous two days.
It became clear early on Thursday that the first wave of
American and British air and missile attacks had not damaged
any oil facilities and that shipments continued.The United
Nations said that a ship continued to load Thursday and
another was waiting after that one sails from Iraq's Gulf port
of Mina al-Bakr.
"Clearly there is some risk that oil exports could be
disrupted, there's no question that Iraq is a major influence
on the market.I don't assume that any of the facilities will
be damaged - there is a possibility that Saddam Hussein may
decide to end the exports himself as a further demonstration
of non-cooperation" said independent oil analyst William
Brown.
Indeed, oil prices were hitting the day's lows as the
market closed its regular session at 3:15 p.m.EST (2015 GMT)
and were heading lower again on the NYMEX's after-hours ACCESS
trading system when trading was halted due to a technical
glitch, shortly after the ACCESS session opened at 4 p.m.EST
(2100 GMT).The after-hours system also was suspended for a
time on Wednesday, a record day of trading on ACCESS.
After the early news that Iraq's oil was still flowing,
there was disappointment in the afternoon from the Madrid
summit between oil ministers from Venezuela, Mexico and Saudi
Arabia when they issued a fairly bland statement calling for
compliance with existing restraint commitments from oil
producers and a deal for Venezuela to extend its cuts through
all of 1999.
The three ministers had spearheaded two rounds of oil cuts
earlier this year.But their efforts unravelled as some
producers, including Venezuela, failed to cut as much as they
promised and as worldwide demand for oil came in even lower
than expected.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None