US crude plunges $4.75 on China fuel price hike

19 June 2008 21:01  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--NYMEX light sweet crude futures for July delivery settled down by $4.75 cents to $131.93/bbl on Thursday following the report that China was raising fuel prices.

Prices rose sharply overnight in response to a militant attack against a Nigerian oil installation but started to come off after the US dollar received a boost from a report showing a decline in jobless claims.

After establishing the session’s high at $137.82/bbl, the sell-off produced an intra-day low of $131.60/bbl before rebounding ahead of the closing bell.

The market will be keeping an eye on a meeting between consumers and producers in Saudi Arabia this coming weekend to discuss the causes for high energy prices.

According to news reports, Saudi Arabia said it would boost daily output by 200,000 bbl/day but the statement was later removed from its London embassy website.

ICE Brent for July delivery bottomed out at $131.86/bbl and settled at 132.00/bbl, down $4.44.

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By: Ignacio Sotolongo
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