IPE Brent futures edge higher on Iran, heavy US snow storm

London (Platts)--13Feb2006

IPE Brent futures inched higher Monday on renewed concerns over Iran's
nuclear program and a harsh winter storm hitting the US Northeast, the world's
largest heating oil market. 
     At 1140 GMT, the March IPE Brent futures contract, due to expire Monday,
was changing hands at $59.80/bbl, up 16 cts from the overnight settle.
     "It's very quiet this morning with the news on Iran and fierce US
Northeast weather having a limited impact on the market," one London-based
broker said. 
     Iran said Monday it intends to resume industrial scale uranium enrichment
before the next meeting of the UN's nuclear watchdog next month. 
     "Iran will not wait for the IAEA meeting on March 6 to resume
enrichment," government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters. He said
that talks between Iran and Russia aimed at finding a compromise in a
worsening dispute over the Islamic republic's nuclear program planned for Feb
16 have been delayed.      
     Russia came with a proposal to guarantee Iranian access to nuclear fuel
needed to generate electricity but at the same time prevent the country from
developing fuel cycle technology by itself and therefore the capacity to make
a bomb. 
     A powerful winter storm hit the US northeast Sunday, leaving thousands of
air travelers stranded and dumping a record snowfall on New York. Winds are
gusting up to 50 miles/hour (80 km/hour) extending the weather front from New 
York to eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the National Weather Service
said. 
     The snowfall piled up 26.9 inched (68.33 centimeters), the previous
record of 26.4 inches (67.06 centimeters) was set in December 26-27, 1947,
said a senior NWS forecaster. 
     According to data released Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, non-commercials, which are primarily comprised of hedge funds,
liquidated 27,579 crude futures and options contracts on the New York
Mercantile Exchange during the week ended Feb 7. 
     Non-commercials were net long 54,307 crude futures and options contracts,
but short just 539 futures contracts. They liquidated 2,145 contracts of
unleaded gasoline futures and options, leaving them long 29,165 lots and also
liquidated 4,517 contracts of heating oil futures and options, leaving them
long 1,158 lots.

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