Crude Oil Falls on Concern U.S. Economic Growth, Energy Demand Will Slow

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell more than $1 a barrel
after a government employment report prompted concern that U.S.
economic growth will slow, reducing demand for gasoline and other
fuels.

Job growth slowed to 92,000 in July from 126,000 the prior
month, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless
rate rose to 4.6 percent. Economic growth in the U.S. and China
has helped spur the rise in energy demand and fuel prices.
Gasoline, diesel and heating-oil inventories rose last week, a
government report showed on Aug. 1.


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Crude Oil Rises on Report Gunmen Attack Boats Near Nigerian Oil Terminal

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose after a reported that
Nigerian gunmen attacked two boats near an offshore terminal in
the Niger delta.

At least three men were killed during the attack, the
British Broadcasting Corp. reported, citing unidentified
security officials. Since last year, about a quarter of oil
output in Nigeria, Africa's largest producer, has been halted by
militant attacks.


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Oil Rises Above $78, One-Year High, as U.S. Refiners May Boost Operations

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $78 a barrel in
New York, nearing a record, on speculation demand will outpace
supply as refiners increase fuel production in preparation for
the winter.

Bets on rising prices by hedge funds and other speculators
rose to a record earlier this month, according to U.S. Commodity
Futures Trading Commission data. World demand climbs to an annual
peak as refineries begin to make fuels for use in the fall and
winter. A government report tomorrow may show U.S. oil supplies
fell for a fourth week, according to a Bloomberg News survey.


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Crude Oil Falls From One-Year High as Sliding Equities Weigh on Confidence

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell from a one-year high
in New York as sliding world equity markets weighed on investor
confidence.

A two-day slump on world equity markets pushed the Standard
& Poor's 500 index to its lowest in 3 1/2 months and knocked
$2.1 trillion off the value of global shares last week. Oil
climbed to within 1 cent of a record close on July 27 after a
report showed the U.S. economy, the world's biggest consumer,
expanded by 3.4 percent in the second quarter.


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Oil Surges More Than $2 as U.S. Economic Growth Signals Demand Will Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose more than $2 a barrel
in New York after a government report showed that the U.S.
economy grew more than expected in the second quarter, indicating
fuel demand will rise in the world's biggest energy consumer.

The economy grew 3.4 percent last quarter, the fastest pace
in more than a year. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before
the report predicted a 3.2 percent gain. The U.S. consumes 24
percent of global oil production.


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Crude Oil Trades Little Changed on Signs U.S. Supplies of Fuel Are Rising

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose in New York before the
release of a U.S. government report that will probably show
declines in the country's gasoline and oil inventories.

U.S. gasoline supplies probably fell 125,000 barrels last
week while oil inventories declined 1.38 million barrels,
according to the median of 16 estimates in a Bloomberg News
survey of analysts. The Energy Department report is scheduled to
be released today at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.


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Crude Oil Declines on Report That OPEC Is Concerned About High Oil Prices

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell after Reuters reported
the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was concerned
about high oil prices and their impact on the world economy.

The group may pump more oil to increase supplies, though
it's unclear whether extra production will be needed this year,
OPEC President Mohamed al-Hamli said, according to Reuters. OPEC,
which produces 40 percent of the world's oil, considers $60 to
$65 a barrel a ``reasonable'' price for crude, KPC World, the
monthly bulletin of the Kuwait Petroleum Corp. reported.


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Crude Oil Trades Near 11-Month High on Growing Demand From U.S. and China

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded near $76 a barrel in
New York, close to an 11-month high yesterday, on rising fuel
demand in the U.S. and China.

U.S. gasoline demand rose last week to its highest in two
years, according to Department of Energy data. China's economy grew
in the second quarter at the fastest pace in 12 years for the
period, heightening speculation Chinese demand for fuel will climb.


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Oil Rises to $75 in New York on Expectations Refineries to Use More Crude

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $75 a barrel in
New York for the first time in more than 11 months on
expectations that U.S. demand will rise as refiners bolster
gasoline production.

Valero Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP Plc, three of the
four biggest U.S. refiners, started up units over the past week.
A government report tomorrow may show that U.S. oil supplies
fell last week as refineries increased production. Iran, OPEC's
second-biggest producer, said there was no need for the group to
hold an emergency meeting.


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Oil Is Steady After Nearing a Record in London on Reduced North Sea Output

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed after
approaching a record in London, as a damaged pipeline in the
North Sea curtailed production.

Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips cut North Sea output last
week because BP Plc shut an undersea pipeline. Hedge-fund
managers and other speculators increased their net-long position
in New York oil futures, bets on rising prices, to the highest
in at least 13 years, according to U.S. Commodity Futures
Trading Commission data.


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PetroChina First-Half Oil, Gas Output Climbs 3.7 Percent on Rising Demand

(Bloomberg) -- PetroChina Co.'s first-half
production increased 3.7 percent as the nation's largest oil and
gas producer intensified efforts to meet rising energy demand.

Crude oil and gas output rose to the equivalent of 3.05
million barrels of oil a day, the Beijing-based company said
today. Oil production gained 0.1 percent from a year earlier,
while gas jumped 16.5 percent.


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Crude Oil Trades Near an 11-Month High After North Sea Production Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded near an 11-month
high in New York after rising last week as a pipeline shutdown in
the North Sea cut oil output and pushed Brent futures higher.

New York futures jumped 2 percent on July 13, their first
gain in three days, after Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips said
the closure of a BP Plc gas pipeline in the North Sea will limit
their oil output. World oil demand will rise 2.5 percent next
year to average 88.2 million barrels a day, the International
Energy Agency said in a report the same day.


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Oil Falls on Report BP Is Starting Unit at Refinery in Whiting, Indiana

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil and gasoline fell in New
York on a report BP Plc will begin startup today of a unit at
its Whiting, Indiana, refinery, the biggest in the Midwest.

The 235,000 barrel-a-day crude unit, which was shut July 9
for unplanned maintenance, is expected to be at full rates by
next week, a person familiar with the plant's status said. The
refinery can normally process more than 400,000 barrels of oil a
day. The unit had been expected to start up this weekend.


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Sugar Gains For Third Day as Rising Energy Prices May Increase Ethanol Use

(Bloomberg) -- Sugar rose a third straight day in
New York on speculation that surging energy prices will increase
demand for ethanol made from sugar cane, curtailing the growth of
a global surplus of the sweetener.

The center-south region of Brazil, the biggest producer of
sugar cane, had produced 5.4 million tons of sweetener as of June
15, down from 6 million tons in the same period last year, while
ethanol output jumped 10 percent to 4.2 billion liters, the
London-based International Sugar Organization said in an e-mailed
report yesterday. Crude oil and gasoline futures in New York have
risen for four weeks in a row.


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Oil Trades Near 10-Month High After Gaining on Higher U.S. Gasoline Price

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed in New
York, after rising yesterday as gasoline prices climbed on
speculation U.S. output of the fuel may slow due to unplanned
refinery shutdowns.

BP Plc closed the largest of three crude units at its
refinery in Whiting, Indiana, a person familiar with the plant
said July 9. The refinery, the biggest in the Midwest, supplies
consumers in the Chicago area. Refineries in Texas and Kansas
shut units last week. Refinery operating rates rose to 90 percent
of capacity in the week ended June 29 to meet demand.


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Oil Rises in New York Expectations of Decline in U.S. Gasoline Production

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose, pulled higher by
gasoline on speculation that U.S. output of the fuel will slow
because of unexpected refinery shutdowns.

BP Plc closed the largest of three crude units at its
refinery in Whiting, Indiana, a person familiar with the plant
said yesterday. The refinery, the biggest in the Midwest,
supplies consumers in the Chicago area. Refineries in Texas and
Kansas shut units last week. The crude-oil market often follows
gasoline during the summer months, when motor-fuel demand peaks.


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Crude Oil Trades Near 10-Month High on U.S. Gasoline Demand, Nigeria Risk

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed in New
York near a 10-month high on concern gasoline supplies in the U.S.
may be insufficient during the peak summer demand period and
unrest in Nigeria may disrupt shipments.

U.S. gasoline stockpiles are 3.5 percent below their five-
year average, the Energy Department said July 5, raising concern
that inventories aren't enough to counter potential shocks such
as the approaching hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico.
Militants in Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, released a
3-year-old British girl, the U.K. Foreign Office said yesterday.


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Oil Rises to a 10-Month High on Signs of Growing Demand, Risks to Supply

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a 10-month high on
signs U.S. economic growth may accelerate, spurring increased
fuel demand in the world's biggest energy consumer.

U.S. employers added 132,000 workers in June, wages grew and
the unemployment rate stayed near a six-year low, a Labor
Department report showed today. Oil output by the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries was little changed last month,
according to a Bloomberg News survey, showing that the group was
ignoring calls by consuming countries to bolster production.


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Sugar Rises as Crude Oil Rally May Boost Demand for Brazil's Cane Ethanol

(Bloomberg) -- Sugar in New York rose to the highest
in more than a week on speculation that rising crude oil prices
will increase demand for ethanol, the gasoline substitute made
from sugar cane.

Crude oil reached a 10-month high of $72.94 a barrel today
on speculation unrest in Nigeria, the biggest African producer,
may disrupt supplies. Mills in Brazil, the world's largest sugar
producer, are using more than half the country's cane crop to
make fuel instead of sweetener.


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Oil Rises to 10-Month High on Nigerian Supply Concern, U.S. Fuel Shortfall

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a 10-month high, on
concern that unrest in Nigeria may curb oil shipments and
unexpected shutdowns at U.S. refineries will cut fuel production.

Nigerian gunmen kidnapped a three-year-old daughter of a
British expatriate on her way to school in the southern oil city
of Port Harcourt, a police spokesman said. Five contractors were
seized yesterday from a rig operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc's
Nigerian venture. Futures pared gains after the Energy Department
reported that U.S. oil and fuel supplies rose last week.


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