Crude Futures Edge Upward in Asia Friday April 15, 12:47 am ET By En-Lai Yeoh, Associated Press Writer Crude Futures Edge Up, Bush Blames China for Surge in Oil Prices
SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude futures edged upward in Asia Friday, moving away from near seven-week lows as U.S. President George W. Bush blamed China for the surge in crude and gasoline prices in America. Elsewhere, markets were also taking stock of Japan's warning that high prices could derail its economic recovery as the Group of Seven developed nations prepared to discuss crude and its effect on the global economy.
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In Asian midmorning trade Friday, benchmark light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up seven cents to $51.20 per barrel. It rose 91 cents in floor trade overnight after briefly falling below the $50 mark for the first time in about two months to $49.75.
In Washington Thursday, President Bush said China's growing demand for crude was primarily to blame for rising oil prices, saying it was "growing like mad."
"My view of China is, is that it's a great nation that's growing like mad," said Bush, according to a transcript of his remarks made to the American Society of Newspaper Editors convention on the White House Web site.
"And that's one of the reasons why Americans are seeing over $2 gasoline, is because demand for energy in China is huge, and supply around the world hasn't kept up with the increase in demand," he said.
Prices at the pumps in the United States are around $2.25 per gallon compared to under $1.80 a year ago.
"I will tell you with $55 oil, we don't need incentives to oil and gas companies to explore. There are plenty of incentives. What we need is to put a strategy in place that will help this country over time become less dependent," Bush continued.
China is the world's second largest consumer of crude behind the United States, and rising demand in both countries in a time of limited excess production capacity has analysts worried that the oil market is even more vulnerable than usual to supply disruptions.
Oil prices are roughly around 35 percent higher than a year ago despite a 14 percent dip in Nymex crude futures since reaching an intraday high above $58 a barrel last Monday -- after the Paris-based International Energy Agency forecast slower demand growth in 2005.
In Japan Friday, Dow Jones Newswires reported Economy Minister Heizo Takenaka as saying Tokyo was closely monitoring crude prices, which could crimp its economic recovery.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said oil prices were firmly on the agenda for the Group of Seven industrialized nations meeting in Washington that begins later Friday.
"The G7 ministers will discuss what is an appropriate level of world oil supply and also what oil-importing countries should do in their daily economic activities," he told a press briefing.
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