The United States suspended crude deliveries to the emergency reserve and raised the prospect of easing strict federal fuel standards, causing oil prices to dip below US$73 a barrel on Wednesday. US crude futures were marginally lower at US$72.86 a barrel, and London Brent crude dipped to US$73.12.
Gasoline prices slumped by 2% as President George Bush called for the Environmental Protection Agency to respond to requests for waivers that would allow suppliers to sell cheaper, lower-grade gasoline, potentially helping ease a summertime supply crunch. The waivers were part of a broader plan to bring down soaring energy prices that threaten to curtail economic growth, including a call for states to crack down on price gouging and a temporary halt to deliveries to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Meanwhile, tension over Iran's nuclear program mounted ahead of IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei's Friday report to the U.N. Security Council on its compliance with a demand to stop uranium enrichment.
ExxonMobil has boosted security at its 420,000 bpd Qua Iboe oil export terminal in Nigeria on Tuesday due to the threat of attack by militants, whereas Royal Dutch Shell has been shut in for more than two months due to militant attacks.
26-Apr-06 
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