Austerity Plan

WorldWatch chief analyst reports that once more Portugal places itsbail-out plan in serious danger of not being able to carry out the austerity plan, Portugal continue to have one of the most expensive final consumer prices for the motorist at the filing station, at the moment BP
and Repsol have the most expensive price per litre 1,601 for regular 95 Octane.

This attitude by the petrol companies Galp, BP, Repsol and Cepsa will affect Portugals austerity plan, as consumer demand will continue to drop as well as Tax revenue derived from petrol products.
This week prices have increased twice, 11-07-2011 and 12-07-2011, the policy shift by the U.S. and some European Nations to try and get external markets to help lower crude prices does not apply to Portugal were consumer prices are inflated to record cost.

The new elected government seems to be as arrogant as the last socialist government regarding this issue as there is no control as to the steps taken by these energy companies.

BP increased 5.5 cents per litre
Repsol increased5,5 cents per litre
Galp increased 5 cents per litre
Cepsa increased 5,5 cents per litre

All these companies have a monopoly in price fixing as can be seen, this price fixing is not allowed by E.U. law, however Brusels nothing does to avoid such situations allowing less honest companies and governments to run free.

EUROPE BAILOUT.

WorldWatch has confirmed that the final consumer price for petrol (gas) has
once more increased in one of Europes oldest economies but also one of the
most monopolized economies in Europe...Portugal.
The final consumer price continues inflated across the entire range ...

Galp 1,419€ per litre for regular 95 Octane.
BP 1,419€ per litre for regular 95 Octane.
Repsol 1,419€ per litre for regular 95 Octane.
Cepsa 1,419€ per litre for regular 95 Octane.

The price fixing is identical in 97% of the petrol stations nationwide,
these prices are combined, planned and executed, in the highways prices
are even more expensive reaching three cents more per litre above the
maximum nationwide.

No wonder the energy companies always manage to have record profit earnings
across the board, we have the example now with the BP's oil spill in the US
.

Dow Jones industrial

Speculation forced Stocks to rallie Monday, extending last month's gains, as investors welcomed upbeat economic reports and strong earnings from European banks.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 208 points, 2%, according to early tallies. The S&P 500 (SPX) index jumped 24 points, or 2.2%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) composite gained 41 points, or 1.8%.
The rally came after stocks rose 7% in July, marking the best monthly gain in a year, on solid second-quarter results from a range of major U.S. companies. The bullish tone carried over Monday as investors cheered quarterly results from European banks HSBC and BNP Paribas.
Energy giants Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and ExxonMobil (XOM, Fortune 500) both jumped as oil prices surged past $80 a barrel on renewed optimism about global economic growth. But the rally was broad-based too.
All 30 Dow stocks were positive, with the biggest gains in the materials and
technology sectors.
While questions remain about growth in the second half of the year, most European economies show worries that the economy could relapse into recession as crude prices are being forced beyond the $80 a barrel.
There are no convincing arguments that the economy is not going to double dip.
Stocks closed mixed Friday as economic concerns tempered upbeat earnings sentiment. Despite the rally in July, the market is up modestly for the year.
Stocks had slumped in April and May amid concerns about the European debt crisis and mixed economic indicators in the United States.
Looking ahead, investors said the focus may not shift later this week from earnings to the economy, particularly the outlook for the U.S. job market.
One of Europes oldest economies, Portugal will continue with serious financial issues mainly due to the monopoly in price fixing in the energy sector by the petrol companies that continue to inflate final consumer prices, BP, Galp, Repsol, Cepsa, making Portugal somewhat lesssupportive of economic growth in recent months.

Currencies and commodities:

The dollar was lower versus the euro and the British pound, but up against the Japanese yen.
U.S. light crude oil for September delivery rose $2.51 to settle at $81.46 a barrel.
COMEX gold's December contract edged up $1.50 to close at $1,185.40 per ounce.

Deep-Water Pause

A list of 33 deep-water Gulf of Mexico floating rigs affected by the Obama administration’s drilling moratorium as of May 26, according to an official with the Minerals Management Service:

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (5 rigs)
Eni SpA (3)
Marathon Oil Corp. (3)
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (3)
Statoil ASA (2)
Chevron Corp. (2)
Noble Corp. (2)
Devon Energy Corp. (2)
BP Plc (2)
BHP Billiton Ltd. (2)
Hess Corp. (1)
LLOG Exploration Co. (1)
Walter Energy Inc. (1)
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (1)
ATP Oil & Gas Corp. (1)
Newfield Exploration Co. (1)
Nexen Inc. (1)

WorldWatch

Oil prices in Portugal are about three times higher than a year ago. The dollar remains weak, the price gains have come even though demand in Portugal. remains weak with a forcast for the first quarter 2010 down 7%.

There is a long history of tripled oil prices causing consternation among consumers, we are not there, yet, but consumer prices for regular 95 Octane at 1.45€ per litre are certainly an unwelcome sign of consumer distress. Prices have jumped 6 cents or more in the past week in many parts of the country, including Porto, Lisbon, Braga, Faro..

According to WorldWatch higher prices are taking their toll on debt-ladened consumers trying to reorganize their finances. The higher cost will first hit the nation's savings rate, he said. After that, it means delays in big ticket purchases such as cars and houses. Portugal won't be as shocked as they were two years ago, however, when prices hit a national average for regular 95 Octane at 1.45€ per litre, the effect on the recession gripped economy will be devastating causing the government to collapse.

The higher prices comes as the government and the oil companies such as Galp, BP, Repsol and Cepsa continue the monopoly of high fuel prices for the motorist. higher prices will hurt the economy and push it deeper into recession.

Today crude prices dropped as demand for heating oil, natural gas and electricity have not increased as expected.

The scheme

As WorldWatch forecast on previous posts the crude price is speculative, both by petrol companies and less honest governments as is the case with Portugal were once more final consumer prices at the pump have become more expensive.
The companies involved in this scam are,Galp, Cepsa, BP e Repsol, last week alone these same companies increased final consumer price three days in a row, now this week they have once more increased consumer final prices at the pump by...

Galp increased regular 95 Octane by 1, 5 cents per litre; consumer price is now a staggering 1,319 euros per litre.
Cepsa increased regular 95 Octane by 1 cent per litre; consumer price is now a staggering 1,318 euros per litre.
BP increased regular 95 Octane by 1 cent per litre; consumer price is now a staggering 1,319 euros per litre.
Repsol increased regular 95 Octane by 1 cent per litre; consumer price is now a staggering 1,319 euros per litre.

These companies all practice the same final price with no explanation given to the public as to why...
As mentioned in previous WorldWatch reports the recession will continue as long as these companies and governments continue to use lame excuses to inflate final consumer prices. Regular 95 Octane should have a consumer price of 1,113 euros per litre. At $80 a barrel, Portugal continues to have one of the most expensive petrol prices in the world...

Falling Dollar...

Oil prices bounced back below $71 on Wednesday as the dollar fell to its lowest level against the euro in more than a year. The euro hit $1.4821 Tuesday, its highest level since September 2008.
Crude is priced in dollars so it becomes cheaper when the dollar falls. Some investors also use commodities such as oil and gold as a hedge against inflation and dollar weakness. The weaker dollar also pushed prices higher for gasoline, heating oil, gold and other commodities. If the dollar continues to get fall like this it will be a threat to the economic recovery, both in Europe and the US.
To combat the worst recession since the 1930s, the US Federal Reserve policy makers have kept interest rates at a record low -- near zero -- and started an assortment of programs designed to encourage borrowing. Critics have complained that the Fed appears to be printing money to pay for the government's spending binge, and that hurts the dollar.
The Fed is expected to keep interest rates low at its meeting this week. And to avoid unleashing inflation later, policymakers are likely to consider ways to rein in programs designed to keep mortgage rates down and get banks to lend more freely. Demand and consumption of crude remains weak with high unemployment and the economy pushing down demand to levels that go back to 2004 and 2005, the US weekly petroleum inventory report indicates that crude oil stocks, gasoline and distillates used to make heating oil and diesel fuel rose in the week ended Friday.
However Portugal continues to have one of the most expensive final consumer price for petrol in the world, the companies Galp, Cepsa, BP and Repsol have once more tried to fool the public by lowering the consumer price in some cases as little as ... 0,4 cents !!!!
This is ridiculous compared to the 3 cents or even 4 cents that they normally increase ... the prices are the same in all filling stations, this shows that in fact there is a monopoly in price fixing with the approvement of the government..

Prices for regular 95 Octane.. (23-09-2009)
Galp 1,274 euro
Cepsa 1,278 euro
BP 1,284 euro
Repsol 1,284 euro

The crude price for the motorist in Portugal is not $71 per barril but rather a staggering $107 per barril !!!

Undermined Economy

According to WorldWatch the world recession is far from over, the latest market crude price drop of more than 12% is a clear indicator on how fragile any world crude increase may be.
OPEC and other crude producers including governments should take measures to stabalize crude prices around $63 per barril or the consequence for producers , traders and speculators will be critical.
Governments should also curtail internal crude companies to avoid inflated final consumer prices, if these measures are not adpoted there will be a decrease in crude demand of 8% by the end of the second quarter.
There are several governments working with oil companies that continue to practice inflated consumer prices, such as...
WorldWatch have made a significant economical analysis of the present financial and productive effort by one of Europe’s oldest economies ...Portugal
Its with no surprise that the government lost the elections for the European parliament on the 07-06-2009, in just over two months time three will be general elections and this government will certainly once again loose.
This prime minister has an arrogant and biased attitude but the real cause they will loose is the flagrant abuse of the petrol companies like Galp, BP, Repsol and Cepsa. With crude prices around the $60 per barril the price paid by consumers in Portugal is equivalent to $90 per barril !!!
These companies have undertaken to increase on a weekly basis the final consumer price for petrol for the motorist, sometimes twice a week!!!
This abuse has the approval of the government. The more the companies charge the more Tax the government makes.
Portugal has one of the highest petrol consumer prices in the world, this alone will further undermine the economy as the recession will worsen and demand for petrol will decrease by further7%
Consumer confidence will reach an all time low, “the population now have the opportunity to choose a new government, one that works for the people and not the petrol companies".
It has been suggested by some sectors of the economy that the best way to avoid these corrupt public servants is a total boycott of any election, until this situation is solved and the petrol consumer prices return to acceptable values.
WorldWatch has received information that there is a civil movement entitled " NÃO AO VOTO" that has already support from various regions of Portugal and over ten thousand supporters who have confirmed that their vote is not for sale.
This explains why over 65% of the voters did not vote in the last elections for the European parliament, we interviewed in Lisbon some Portuguese and the
disappointment was the same as expressed by Mr. Santos a public servant " we are tired of the whole Socrates attitude, Galp and others keep increasing the petrol, every week, up, up, up, this must stop now, they all increase at the same time, the same amount, this is outrageous"

If Socrates and company want to remain in power then a positive attitude must be taken regarding the petrol companies Galp, BP, Repsol and Cepsa.

WorldWatch Analyst..Klipriver

OPEC CRASH !!!

Crude oil fell more than $4 a barrel, the biggest decline in seven weeks, on signs that the recession in the world’s major energy-consuming countries are deepening and will continue to deepen if the OPEC group continue to force crude prices up...
This global recession was mostly caused by the same group OPEC who last year forced crude prices to reach a staggering $147 per barril.
This week oil dropped 10 percent as the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped below 7,000 for the first time after Warren Buffett said the economy is in “shambles” and insurer American International Group Inc. reported a $61.7 billion loss. manufacturing output in February shrank for a 13th consecutive month. Until the bad economic news abates, we are going to primarily move on demand concerns, at this point there are no signs pointing to when this crisis will come to an end. Crude oil for April delivery fell $4.61 to settle at $40.15 a barrel at 2:49 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest one-day drop since Jan. 7.
Prices are down 10 percent so far this year. Brent crude oil for April settlement declined $4.14, or 8.9 percent, to end the session at $42.21 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe exchange. The discount of oil in to the Brent grade in widened to $2.06 a barrel. That’s still down from $10.67 on Feb. 12. Therre has recently been a close correlation between the stock and energy markets, the Dow has become an indicator for where the economy is going. According to CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets Manufacturing also contracted last month. The CLSA China Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 45.1 from 42.2 in January.The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply said in a report U.K. manufacturing shrank for a 10th month. Commodities had the biggest drop since October as the deepening global recession slashed demand. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials fell 11.23, or 5.3 percent, to 200.34, the biggest decline since Oct. 10. The 6.6 percent decrease on that date was the largest since the debut of the index in 1956.
Oil also declined as the dollar strengthened to the highest level since April 2006 against the currencies of six major trading partners, reducing the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment. The Dollar Index, which the ICE exchange uses to track the currency versus the euro, yen, pound, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar and Swedish krona, climbed to 88.969. Officials from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the supplier of 40 percent of the world’s oil, gave conflicting signals on their intentions to cut output further when they meet in on March 15.
The group “will likely” reduce supplies to support prices, Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khelil said in an interview in today. Yesterday,Iran oil minister said OPEC is unlikely to lower crude production when it meets, this will cause global recession to worsen and crude demand will continue to decline. OPEC members have reached almost 100 percent compliance with existing cuts at the end of February, Khelil said. The group has implemented as much as 80 percent of previously announced supply cuts, preventing a sharp fall in the oil price, Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said in comments posted yesterday on the Web site of state-run Iranian Students News Agency.
This attitude by OPEC members will cause a "crash" to the balance between production and demand, prices will not rise above $40 per barrel and the cartel will be at risk in collapsing.