SAMA sees stable price pressures

Inflationary pressures in Saudi Arabia should remain stable in the first three months of this year, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency said in a report.
“Current data indicate that inflationary pressures will be stable during the first quarter of 2013,” SAMA said in its quarterly inflation report.
Average inflation in the Kingdom eased to 4.5 percent last year, the lowest level since 2007, from 5.0 percent in 2011. A Reuters poll this week forecast consumer price growth of 4.4 percent in 2013.
Oil prices are currently above Riyadh’s preferred $ 100 a barrel.
But with expectations of slower demand in early 2013, Reuters reported that OPEC left the target unchanged at a meeting last month, leaving the door open to informal supply tweaks depending on demand.
Saudi Arabia trimmed supply by a further 100,000 bpd in January, according to the Reuters survey. Its reduction in December supported the market, although a senior Saudi oil ministry adviser said the move was not aimed at lifting prices.
Brent crude was trading lower yesterday, just below $ 115 a barrel.
Brent crude oil prices edged higher, briefly touching a three-month high, as traders weighed mixed economic data from the US and Europe.
The international benchmark rose to $ 115.25 a barrel, the highest level since mid-October, before retreating as US crude and gasoline futures sank.
The market was balancing US data showing unemployment benefits claims rose last week against positive euro zone sentiment data from Wednesday and US Federal Reserve comments that it would maintain its stimulus plan until the economic outlook improves substantially.
Investors have been closely watching economic data from top consumers for signs that struggling fuel demand will improve.
“The oil complex, over the last one or two weeks, has moved back in sync with what’s happening with the economy,” Dominick Chirichella, senior partner at Energy Management Institute in New York, told Reuters.
US RBOB gasoline futures led losses in the oil complex, dropping 1 percent after 10 days of gains ahead of the expiration of the front-month contract.
Market players said oil price movements could be limited until today’s release of US nonfarm payrolls data and official manufacturing data out of China, which is expected to show factory activity picking up pace.
“We see persistent macro-driven trading for oil with much attention paid to the US non-farm payrolls report tomorrow,” said VTB Capital oil strategist Andrey Kryuchenkov.
Brent was up 18 cents cents at $ 115.08 a barrel at 11:40 a.m. EST (1640 GMT) after earlier hitting $ 115.25, the highest level since Oct. 16.
US crude was down 75 cents at $ 97.19 after reaching a more than four-month high on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 was down 0.27 percent near the end of a strong starting month of the year.
RBOB gasoline futures traded down nearly 1 percent at $ 3.0100 a gallon after 10 days of gains that pushed the front-month up more than 12 percent.
“Gasoline is just retracing a little bit from a bit much of an over-reaction yesterday. I don’t think the inventories were signaling that we’re going to have a shortage of gasoline anytime soon,” Chirichella said, referring to a stockbuild in the East Coast last week reported by US Energy Information Administration.
Supply worries stemming from tensions in the Middle East continued to underpin prices for international benchmark Brent.