What's Moving the Oil Markets?

What's Moving the Oil Markets?

•Deborah White, senior energy analyst at Societe Generale, said that an increase in demand of between 8% and 10% in April is a sign that Chinese refineries are becoming more aggressive due to the prospect of higher domestic fuel sale prices. China imported 17.34% more crude in the four-month period at 49.15 million mt, compared to the same period in 2005, Chinese customs data showed.

•OPEC ministers gathering in the Venezuelan capital Caracas for a meeting Thursday to decide on third-quarter output policy were widely expected to leave their 28 million b/d ceiling unchanged. The group pumped 30.01 million b/d in April, the highest since November 2005, according to a Platts survey.

•Coinciding with OPEC's meeting Thursday, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany are to meet in Vienna to discuss Iran's nuclear program, AFP quoted a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman as saying Tuesday. Tehran, for its part, is sticking to its refusal to halt sensitive uranium enrichment work. The country would study European proposals to end the crisis, the foreign ministry in Tehran said Tuesday, but added none had been received so far.

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