Crude prices rise for first time in 4 days
DALLAS - Crude oil prices rose for the first time in four days yesterday after Turkey said a pipeline carrying crude to the Mediterranean from Azerbaijan may remain shut for two weeks following an explosion Tuesday.
The pipeline is able to ship 1 million barrels a day, Ali Gungor, governor of the Erzincan province, where the blast occurred, said yesterday. A Kurdish separatist group claimed responsibility for bombing the line, which is still burning.
"This is a pipeline that has not been attacked before. To have it now politicized by the Kurds opens up a whole new realm of political frustration and supply loss," said Peter Beutel, president of Connecticut-based Cameron Hanover Inc.
Crude for September delivery rose $1.44 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It touched $121.78 earlier in the day.
New York futures fell as low as $117.11 Wednesday after US inventories unexpectedly rose. At that level, they were more than 20 percent below the record $147.27 reached July 11, and a 20 percent decline is the threshold commonly seen as the start of a bear market.
Gasoline for September delivery rose 5.34 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $3.0027 a gallon.
Regular gasoline at the pump, averaged nationwide, fell 1.3 cents to $3.85 a gallon, AAA said.
Brent crude for September rose 86 cents to $117.86 a barrel on London's ICE exchange.
