Following the surge of crude oil to record prices in the global
markets, Shanghai fuel oil futures contracts yesterday jumped 3.14
percent, the largest one-day price rise in the past month.
On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most actively traded fuel
oil futures contracts for delivery in January 2008 yesterday closed
at 3,880 yuan per ton after surging to a shade below the record
price of 4,166 yuan reached in May last year.
Analysts said Shanghai's fuel oil futures prices were largely
pushed up by the global price surge of crude, caused mostly by an
unexpected drop in international inventory and rising concerns
about a further weakening of the US dollar after a fresh interest
rate cut.
Meanwhile, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)
on Wednesday announced an increase in the average retail price of
gasoline and diesel by 0.4 yuan and 0.46 yuan per liter
respectively from yesterday.
The NDRC said the price rise in oil products would not be passed
on to commuters as fares on public transport, including railways
and buses, will remain unchanged.
"The interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve is also seen to
help push up oil prices as it is expected to further depress the US
dollar," said Lin Hui, an analyst at a futures company of Orient
Securities.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the most actively traded
crude oil futures contracts for delivery in December rose 0.99
percent yesterday to $95.47 per barrel in electronic trading. The
price hit the historic high of $96.24 in intraday trading before
falling slightly to around $95.
Concerns about a further weakening of the US dollar have also
pushed up prices of a wide range of agricultural produce on the
Dalian Commodity Exchange.
Prices of soybean oil futures contracts for delivery in
September 2008 yesterday surged to a historic high of 9,020 yuan
per ton before closing at 8,924 yuan per ton.
Corn futures contracts for delivery in May 2008 also rose 0.64
percent to close at 1,717 yuan per ton.
(China Daily November 2, 2007)
