February 28, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 29, 1427

LONDON, Feb 27: World oil prices plunged on Monday on profit-taking after having spiked above $62.0 at the end of last week on simmering supply concerns. Dealers noted that the oil market was setting aside international political tensions following data last week that showed an increase in energy stockpiles in the United States.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, sank $1.26 to $61.65 per barrel in pit trading. The contract had won over $2 on Friday to finish at $63.25 per barrel.

In London on Monday, the price of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery plummeted $1.42 to $61.20 per barrel in electronic deals.

In Monday’s trade, “light crude futures fell, giving back some of the strong gains seen on Friday as a result of an attempted attack on a major Saudi oil facility”, said analysts at the Sucden brokerage firm.

Oil prices in New York had spiked after an attempt by the Al Qaeda terror network to blow up a Saudi Arabian oil processing plant. Elsewhere, traders were tracking events in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest producer of crude, where militants are threatening fresh attacks against foreign oil companies operating there.

Analysts also say that tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme could lead to disruption of its oil exports. Iran exports 2.6 million bpd and is the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia.

Currently, “geopolitical factors are getting swept under the rug” because of the strong US inventory build-up, said Tony Nunan, a manager for energy risk management with Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.

“People are focusing on the immediate concerns and there is no shortage of oil right now. There may be a shortage soon but not right now.”

The US Department of Energy had revealed last Thursday that crude oil reserves rose by 1.1 million barrels to 326.7 million in the week to February 17, bigger than the 700,000-barrel increase expected by analysts.

Crude stocks in the US, the world’s biggest consumer of energy, are some 10.0 per cent higher than at the same stage last year.—AFP