Dollar falls against major currencies, crude oil prices hit new record high, $140 per barrel 

Dollar falls against major currencies

www.chinaview.cn 2008-06-17 07:17:35  

    NEW YORK, June 16 (Xinhua) --

The dollar fell against major currencies on Monday, hit by weak U.S. manufacturing data and rising oil prices.

    Light, sweet crude for July delivery soared to a trading record of 139.89 dollars a barrel before falling back on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.

    The New York Federal Reserve Bank's Empire State Index indicated that manufacturing activity in New York State continued to weaken in June. The index fell to minus 8.7 from minus 3.7 a month earlier, much weaker than a minus 1.5 economists had been expecting.

    The dollar was also under pressure as a G8 meeting held in Japan during the weekend yielded no joint statement on currencies. A statement released after the meeting focuses on inflation rather than foreign exchange, deflating expectations of a statement in strong support of the U.S. currency.

    The euro bought 1.5489 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.5354 dollars it bought late Friday. The British pound rose to 1.9635 dollars from 1.9469 dollars.

    The dollar fell to 1.0446 Swiss francs from 1.0498 Swiss francs, and fell to 108.12 Japanese yen from 108.21 Japanese yen. It fell to 1.0238 Canadian dollars from 1.0290 Canadian dollars.

Editor: Yan Liang

Oil prices hit new record

www.chinaview.cn 2008-06-16 22:31:25  

    NEW YORK, June 16 (Xinhua) --

Crude oil futures surged and set new record of near 140 U.S. dollars a barrel Monday morning on a weak dollar.

    Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose 5.03 dollars to hit 139.89 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Editor: Yan Liang

OPEC weekly prices approach 130 USD

www.chinaview.cn 2008-06-16 20:23:01  

    VIENNA, June 16 (Xinhua) --

Weekly average oil prices of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) set a new record of 129.74 U.S. dollars per barrel (dpb) last week, the Vienna-based cartel said Monday.

    This was 8.29 dollars higher than the previous week, up 5.44 dollars from the last record of 124.30 dollars dpb set at the end of May.

    Daily prices last week started with a peak of 130.87 dollars dpb Monday before retreating swiftly to 128.65 dollars dpb on Tuesday. They rose slowly in the following trading days, standing again over 130 dollars on Friday.

    In its monthly report released Friday, OPEC attributed the oil market volatility in May to speculative pressure, fluctuations in the U.S. dollar and geopolitical concerns.

    Emphasizing the balance of supply and demand in the international oil market, OPEC lowered its forecast of oil demand in 2008 for the third time to 86.9 million barrels.

    Meanwhile, the cartel said largest producer Saudi Arabia would possibly increase its daily output from the present level of about9.45 million barrels to 9.7 million barrels or higher.

    The news has somewhat eased the hike in prices, with light crude oil in the U.S market dropping 1.28 dollars to 133.58 dpb on Monday.

    OPEC is also set to hold an emergency summit in Saudi Arabia on June 22 to address the soaring prices.

    But some analysts point out that raising oil output can hardly solve the problem of high oil prices, saying it is time for oil consumers to think about ways to reduce their reliance on crude oil.

Editor: Sun Yunlong

 

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