Oil climbs to $103 after report shows large drop in U.S. crude suppliesMay 21, 2014 - 17:15 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The price of oil climbed to $103 a barrel Wednesday, May 21, after a report showed a large drop in U.S. crude supplies, according to the Associated Press. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark U.S. crude for July delivery was up 71 cents to $103.04 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the Nymex contract gained 22 cents. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil, was up 25 cents to $109.94 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. A report from the American Petroleum Institute showed a drop of 10.3 million barrels in U.S. crude stockpiles, against expectations of a decline of 300,000 barrels by analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Supply data from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration — the market benchmark — will be released later Wednesday. Supplies are seen to have fallen last week on lower imports and increased processing by refineries. Oil prices were also supported by political instability in Libya, usually a key supplier to European refineries, and the conflict in eastern Ukraine between the government and pro-Russia forces ahead of presidential elections on Sunday. Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. |