Shares of oil companies mixed as crude prices dip

NEW YORK (AP) ? Oil stocks were mixed Monday as crude prices fell on news of weak imports from China, the world's second-largest economy.

An analyst for Raymond James said he expects oil prices to "dramatically deteriorate" as a dull global economy and rising U.S. supplies lead to an oil glut.

Crude oil prices have been rising since late June, propelled higher by tighter supplies and by rising tension between the West and Iran, an oil producer that has threatened to block tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for Western sanctions over Iran's nuclear program.

The Raymond James analyst, J. Marshall Adkins, said the Iran situation and speculation over economic stimulus by the Federal Reserve have helped short-term oil prices. He raised his forecast for fourth-quarter oil prices.

But, Adkins added, "we still believe oil market fundamentals are going to dramatically deteriorate over the next six months or so." He said rising U.S. oil supplies and a stagnant global economy should lead to a glut of oil in 12 to 18 months., and he predicted that Saudi Arabia will respond by cutting oil production early next.

It was news from China, not Iran, that caused oil prices to slip Monday. Benchmark crude was off 53 cents to $95.87 after China's imports dropped unexpectedly in August and the Chinese president warned of further slow growth.

In afternoon trading, shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. fell 18 cents to $89.73 ; ConocoPhillips dropped 19 cents to $56.45; and Chevron slipped 9 cents to $113.91.

U.S. shares of Royal Dutch Shell PLC fell 51 cents to $71.08 while those of BP PLC gained 20 cents to $42.13.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shares-oil-companies-mixed-crude-prices-dip-180619518--finance.html

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