OPEC president Purnomo predicts lower oil prices in near future

OPEC president Purnomo predicts lower oil prices in near future

Jakarta (Platts)--29Oct2004


Oil prices should fall further in the near future as production is returning
to normal in the Gulf of Mexico and US oil stocks have risen, OPEC president
Purnomo Yusgianto said Friday. 

"The current lower oil price is a good signal, so I hope prices will keep falling," Purnomo, who is also Indonesia's oil
minister, said after an inauguration ceremony for a floating production,
storage and offloading facility in Indonesia. Front-month December West Texas
Intermediate crude oil futures slumped early Friday to $50.53/bbl, down more
than 9% from the record-high trade of $55.67/bbl on Oct 25 and sliding further
from Thursday's settle of $50.92/bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A
report Wednesday by the US Department of Energy showing an unexpected build of
4-mil bbl in US commercial crude stocks, which coupled with recovery in the
USG production shut-in by Hurricane Ivan, precipitated a broad-based selloff
in energy markets Wednesday.

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