OIL PRICES

摘要

Oil prices experienced another volatile few weeks, with the spot price of Brent hitting US$47.71 on September 7. This was a sharp recovery from the plunge on Monday, August 24 to US$42.35 when Chinese stock market panic was at its most acute. Fears over the economic and financial health of the Asian superpower have translated into commodity market retrenchment. China, the world's major consumer of resources, is expected to have less use for energy to power its factories, for example, if industrial production is down. The price of crude did recover by 30%, to US$53.20 on 31 August, but this proved to be short-lived as hedge funds which had ramped up short positions in oil futures covered their losses. The supply glut continues to weigh on prices with Iran likely to increase oil exports.