Iran's Oil Minister Says There's No Need to Call Emergency OPEC Meeting

(Bloomberg) -- Iran, the second-largest producer in
the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said there's
no need for OPEC to hold an emergency meeting because markets
are well-supplied.

``There is no shortage in the world markets of oil and
there is no need for OPEC to hold an emergency meeting,''
Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh told the country's oil
ministry press agency Shana today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Yen Gains After Iran Asks Japanese Refiners to Use Yen to Purchase Crude

(Bloomberg) -- The yen rose after Iran asked
Japanese oil refiners to pay for Iranian crude oil in the
currency instead of dollars.

National Iranian Oil Co. asked the refiners to switch to
yen payments to counter the risk that dollar transfers may be
frozen by increased sanctions, according to a letter from the
oil producer obtained by Bloomberg News. Iran is Japan's third
biggest supplier of oil.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Dubai Dhow Captains Defy U.S. Sanctions, Pirates With Shipments to Iran

(Bloomberg) -- Sailors with skin baked to leather by
the Persian Gulf sun stack Hewlett-Packard Co. laser-jet printers
alongside a 40-foot wooden dhow in Dubai Creek as Ali Reza, an
Iranian merchant, watches them sweat.

From his base in Dubai, the second-biggest member of the
United Arab Emirates, Reza ships General Electric Corp.
refrigerators and other American-branded products to Iran, even
though re-exporting them is banned under U.S. sanctions. Within
days, the printers will be snapped up by buyers in Iran.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

IEA Expects Oil Prices to Remain Near $70 a Barrel, Economist Birol Says

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil prices will probably remain
near $70 a barrel during the next year because of political
tensions in Nigeria, Iran and Iraq, the chief economist of the
International Energy Agency said.

``I would be surprised if prices go down significantly,'' the
IEA's Fatih Birol said in an interview today at an energy
conference in Istanbul. ``We are going through difficult times.''


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Iran Starts Rationing of Gasoline, Sparking Protests in Tehran's Streets

(Bloomberg) -- Iranians rioted in the streets of
Tehran after the government imposed rationing of gasoline, which
the country spends $5 billion a year to import.

Starting today, drivers will be allowed 100 liters, or about
26 gallons, of gasoline a month, Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh
said on state television. Taxis will get 800 liters. Lawmakers said
earlier this month drivers would probably get five or six liters a
day, 50 percent more than the program actually grants them.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

EEOC sues Merrill over alleged discrimination

(Reuters) - By Paritosh Bansal



NEW YORK, June 26 - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Merrill Lynch over the alleged discrimination of a former employee because of his Iranian origin and Muslim faith, according to a court filing on Tuesday.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Persian Gulf Crude Oil Tanker Rates May Rise as Producers Reveal Programs

(Bloomberg) -- The cost of shipping Middle East
crude to Asia on supertankers may extend four days of gains as
oil-producing nations tell companies when to have vessels in
place to load at Persian Gulf ports.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer, Iran, and
the United Arab Emirates this week may release port-loading
schedules for July crude shipments, stoking demand for tankers,
said Per Mansson, a tanker broker for Nor Ocean Stockholm AB, in
an e-mailed note today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Oil Trades Near Nine-Month High on U.S. Refinery Slowdowns, Iran Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded near a nine-month
high in New York after a drop in U.S. refining raised concern
that fuel supplies may remain below average.

Maintenance at refineries last week cut processing rates to
a six-week low, prompting oil companies to produce less diesel
and heating oil in an effort to boost gasoline stockpiles. Oil
also rose after Iran, the second-largest producer in the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, rejected United
Nations demands to suspend its uranium enrichment.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Gold, Silver Climb in New York Amid Speculation Dollar's Rally to Stall

(Bloomberg) -- Gold and silver prices climbed in
New York on speculation higher energy costs will boost demand
for precious metals as hedges against inflation.

Gold sometimes moves in tandem with crude oil, which
climbed above $67 a barrel after a government report showed U.S.
refineries cut operating rates and Iran said it will continue
developing nuclear energy. Some investors buy gold to hedge
against accelerating consumer prices. Before today, gold had
climbed 2.3 percent this year, while oil gained 8.5 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Oil Rises on U.S. Refining Slowdown, Iran's Refusal to Defer Nuclear Plans

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $67 a barrel in
New York and gasoline jumped after a government report showed
that U.S. refineries unexpectedly cut operating rates and Iran
said it isn't willing to suspend its nuclear program.

Refineries operated at 89.2 percent of capacity last week,
the lowest since May 4 and the lowest utilization rate in 15
years for the second week in June, an Energy Department report
showed yesterday. Iran, the Middle East's second-largest producer
of crude oil, said its nuclear research is advancing. The U.S.
and its allies accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Crude Oil Declines From a 9-Month High on Signs of Weaker Growth in Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell from a nine-month high
on concern that rising interest rates may lead to slower
growth in demand.

U.S. Treasury 10-year notes are poised for their biggest
weekly decline in more than a year on concern economic growth and
inflation will encourage central banks to raise interest rates.
Gonu is dissipating after sweeping across coastal Oman and Iran.
Oman's ports, including its oil-export terminal at Mina al-Fahal,
opened today for partial operations, Gulf Agency Co. reported.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Crude Oil Is Little Changed as Cyclone Gonu Weakens on Approach to Iran

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed as
Cyclone Gonu weakened approaching the Iranian coast, reducing
concern that shipments from OPEC's second-biggest producer will
be disrupted.

Gonu is dissipating over water near Iran with winds at 64
kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour), the U.S. Navy said.
Ships continued to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway
at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, Associated Press reported,
citing Suresh Nair of the Gulf Agency Co. shipping firm. At least
a quarter of the world's oil supplies pass through the strait.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

U.S. urges Swiss banks to steer clear of Iran

(Reuters) - "We delivered new evidence that implicates Iranian
financial institutions in the uranium enrichment program,"
Levey said in an interview in French-language daily Le Temps.




"We came to offer new information to Swiss bank executives
to make them aware of the risks to their reputation they could
run by maintaining financial relations with Iran."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

US crude jumps $1 on gasoline worries

(Reuters) - U.S. crude oil prices rose a dollar Friday on concerns over low gasoline supplies heading into the travel-heavy Memorial holiday weekend.

Rising tension surrounding Iran and Nigeria, two of the world's leading oil producers, was also underpinning gains, dealers said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil rises to $71 on supply worries

(Reuters) - Oil rose to $71 a barrel on Friday, near a nine-month high, as a strike in Nigeria threatened more of the country's output and Iran remained defiant over its nuclear programme.

Rising tension surrounding two of the world's leading oil producers have coincided with lower OPEC supply and relatively low gasoline stocks in top consumer the United States before the onset of peak summer demand.


Read more at Reuters Africa