Clima y explosión empujan precios de petróleo

Genevieve Signoret & Patrick Signoret

Tanto el huracán Isaac como la explosión en la refinería venezolana presionan los precios de petróleo y combustibles al alza, escribe FT. Por otro lado, Petroleum Economist (vía The Hill) afirma que la Agencia Internacional de Energía (AIE) –bajo presión estadounidense– probablemente liberará reservas estatégicas de petróleo en parte para mantener la confianza en las sanciones a Irán. Discusiones al respecto se habían reportado a mediados del mes (FT).

FT sobre el huracán Isaac (énfasis nuestro):

US petrol prices leapt as tropical storm Isaac churned across the Gulf of Mexico, forcing refineries to batten down operations at a time of declining stocks of fuel.

Wholesale petrol prices gained as much as 4.1 per cent to $3.2050 per gallon, the highest level since April, as Isaac was forecast to arrive as a hurricane in states from Louisiana to western Florida early Wednesday. The storm is the biggest threat to Gulf energy infrastructure since hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008.

Isaac could escalate a late-summer rise in petrol prices and encourage Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, to step up attacks on White House energy policy in his campaign against Barack Obama, US president.

It also increased odds for the release of crude stocks from the US strategic petroleum reserve, JPMorgan analysts said. Retail petrol prices averaged $3.776 per gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration, up noticeably in recent weeks but below the spring peak.

The Hill sobre la posible liberación de reservas de petróleo:

The International Energy Agency (IEA) likely will call on countries to release oil reserves to combat rising prices and maintain the integrity of Iranian sanctions, according to trade journal Petroleum Economist.

With oil prices spiking 30 percent since June, unnamed IEA sources said the agency is poised to dip into Western nations’ strategic reserves as early as September.

The IEA originally opposed a unilateral U.S. plan to tap its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). But the agency reportedly gave in after the Obama administration insisted on using the SPR. It has now asked the White House to wait for other countries to join the effort, according to the report.

The IEA believes releasing reserves will preserve confidence in international sanctions imposed against Iran for its nuclear activity. Those sanctions have crippled Iran’s ability to export oil while at the same time constraining international supply and forcing prices upward.

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