The political uprisings in the oil-rich region of the Middle East and North Africa are pushing oil prices to a dangerous level that threatens to force many still recovering economies into another recession. Wayne Atwell, Managing Director of Casimir Capital, spoke with Oil Investing News, a part of The Resource Investing News Network, about the possible implications for the resource markets.
Bloomberg reports that oil fell as the dollar advanced following an increase in American factory orders.
All eyes are on oil majors, as they battle a refining slump. BP reports results Tuesday, followed by Conoco on Wednesday, Exxon and Shell on Thursday, and Chevron on Friday. Though the sector is up 20 per cent, refineries are struggling as demand remains limp. Is there a way out?
The market in Toronto jumped significantly, in part due to the merger announcement between Suncorp (TSE:SU) and Petro-Canada (TSE:PCA). Petro-Canada was up 20 per cent at the end of the day and many of the other Canadian oil patch companies rose along with it. EnCana (TSE:ECA), Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) and Talisman Energy (TSE:TLM) all closed up significantly.
Gold Point Energy (CVE:GPE) announced today that it has obtained two new consessions in Poland. GPE is in the process of being bought by San Leon Energy Plc. (LON:SLE) which jumped 1.5p or 9% on the news.
After falling from $147 to $35 per barrel towards the end of last year, crude oil has once again gained and touched $45 per barrel on speculation that China's stimulus plan may spur demand for the commodity near term. However, some experts are of the view that this is not just speculation but real purchases driving the prices up.
Thursday, March 3, 2011