Finotec News Archive - September 03 2007
Oil Trades Little Changed as Hurricane May Miss US
Crude oil traded little changed near a four-week high in New York on signs a hurricane approaching the Gulf of Mexico will miss U.S. oil facilities.Rodian Rahnayev 
03 September 2007
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Crude oil traded little changed near a four-week high in New York on signs a hurricane approaching the Gulf of Mexico will miss U.S. oil facilities.
Felix, north of Colombia, is a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest on the Saffir-Simpson scale of storm intensity, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest forecast. On its current track, Felix may hit Belize on Sept. 5 before crossing into the southern Gulf. The Texas to Alabama coast accounts for a quarter of U.S. oil output and half its refining capacity.
``The market will be on its toes for a while,'' said Tobin Gorey, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. in Sydney. If Felix ``changes track the price will go up.''
Felix was about 390 miles (627 kilometers) southeast of Jamaica at 8 p.m. New York time. The hurricane, with 165 mile-an- hour winds, is likely to strengthen further as it continues on a west-northwest track, the Hurricane Center said.
The fate of Felix after it makes land is ``somewhat uncertain,'' center forecaster Richard Pasch said.
``We advise against putting too much emphasis on the exact NHC forecast track'' four and five days out, he said. None of the track models indicate Felix turning ``significantly'' north toward the U.S., he said.
``Hurricanes are going to be a big flash-point, a big concern for the market'' for the rest of the month, said Antoine Halff, head of energy research Fimat USA Inc. in New York. Concerns about the U.S. economy would need to be grave to offset the upward pressure on prices from the risk to supplies from hurricanes and ``extremely low'' gasoline stockpiles, he said.
Finotec Analysis Team
03 September 2007
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