GLOBAL MARKETS: Asian stocks fall after US credit outlook cut
SINGAPORE, April 19 (Reuters) - Asian markets fell on Tuesday after rating agency Standard & Poor's lowered its U.S. credit outlook to negative, prompting a global flight to other assets.
The euro nursed heavy losses early in Asia while the yen gained across the board as worries about sovereign debt problems in Europe and the United States prompted investors to unwind carry trades.
OIL:Crude remains weak on bearish demand outlook led by US
SEOUL, April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures extended losses in early Asian trade on Tuesday after credit rating agency S&P lowered its U.S. outlook to negative and OPEC ministers said high crude prices could weigh on consumer economies.
OPEC ministers said on Monday costly oil could place a major strain on consumer countries with fragile economies. The comment followed leading OPEC member Saudi Arabia's confirmation on Sunday that the kingdom had cut output by more than 800,000 barrels per day in March because of weak demand.
Oil companies go solar to tap hard-to-get supplies
LOS ANGELES, April 18 (Reuters) - Soaring oil prices are turning some energy companies into accidental environmentalists: They are building clean, solar-powered systems to pull crude out of their aging wells.
But this is no public relations move by big polluters seeking to green their images. Having spent heavily on energy-intensive technology to increase output from depleted fields, companies including Chevron Corp and Berry Petroleum Co are using solar power to lower the cost of creating steam that is injected into the wells to improve the flow of heavy oil.
Volatility bigger concern than oil price-SKorea
KUWAIT, April 18 (Reuters) - South Korea, the world's fifth largest importer of crude, is more worried about volatility than the outright level of oil prices, its deputy minister for energy and resources policy said on Monday.
Brent crude hit a peak of more than $127 a barrel earlier this month, its highest in more than two and a half years, but had retreated below $122 a barrel on Monday.
Libya rebel oil firm plays down export prospects
BENGHAZI, Libya, April 18 (Reuters) - Libyan rebels are unlikely to export any more oil until they are able to resume production but are keeping in touch with potential buyers, an oil official in the opposition-held east said on Monday.
The rebels control fields owned by the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco), including Nafoora, Misla and Sarir, which have a combined potential production capacity of about 400,000 barrels per day, Wahid Bugaighis told Reuters in an interview.
NATURAL GAS: Natural gas ends down on S&P US credit outlook
NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - Front-month U.S. natural gas futures ended lower on Monday after an early run up, pressured by news that deficit concerns prompted Standard & Poor's to issue a negative outlook on its credit rating for the United States. "The weather is a little supportive, but the market sold off on the S&P statement," a Florida trader said, adding the market was in a trading range and likely to stay in it for a while.
COMMODITIES: Mostly down after S&P U.S. revision; gold at record
NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - Gold shot to record highs of nearly $1,500 an ounce on Monday and most other commodities fell as investors turned to safe-haven assets after Standard & Poor's threatened to cut the United States' AAA credit rating.
"It's a wake-up call that we need to do something in the U.S.," Axel Merk, portfolio manager at Merk Hard Currency Fund in Palo Alto, California, said after S&P downgraded its credit outlook for the United States.
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