20121129 1211 Global Markets & Energy Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares up on hopes of U.S. budget deal
TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Asian shares edged higher, mirroring U.S. and European stock rises overnight, as sentiment improved after a senior U.S. lawmaker said he was "optimistic" on reaching a budget deal before the end of the year to avoid a fiscal crisis.
"Global stocks have recently tended to focus on one issue, which is the U.S. fiscal cliff," said Cho Byung-hyun, an analyst at Tong Yang Securities.

FOREX-Yen off 1-week high, euro firm on renewed U.S. fiscal hopes
TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The yen slipped from a one-week high hit overnight and the euro regained some footing after comments from U.S. policy makers rekindled hopes of a deal to avert a sharp fiscal tightening.
"For the moment, the U.S. fiscal cliff seems to be a dominant theme for the market," said Katsunori Kitakura, associate general manager of market-making at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

Obama says hopes for deficit deal by Christmas
WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he hoped to reach an agreement with Congress before Christmas to avoid the looming "fiscal cliff" and shrink the budget deficit, and ramped up efforts to rally the public to press Republicans for action.
Obama encouraged Americans to use Twitter - with the hashtag #My2K - and other social media to swamp their lawmakers with requests to act quickly to keep their tax rates low.

OIL - Brent rises towards $110, on improved U.S. budget talks, MEast
SINGAPORE, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose towards $110 a barrel, as U.S. lawmakers appeared to be inching closer to a deal on the "fiscal cliff" and tensions in the Middle East worsened, although investors remained wary of the outlook for oil demand next year.
"Right now it's all on the U.S., if they can get a deal on the fiscal cliff, they will be on their way to a sustained economic recovery," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.

US crude stocks fall slightly, gasoline stocks rise-EIA
NEW YORK, Nov 28 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil inventories dropped slightly last week and gasoline stocks rose sharply as refineries increased processing rates, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.
U.S. crude oil inventories fell 347,000 barrels in the week to Nov. 23, to 374.12 million barrels, after analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a build of about 300,000 barrels.

US bans BP from new govt contracts after oil spill deal
WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. government banned BP Plc  on Wednesday from new federal contracts over its "lack of business integrity" in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, possibly imperiling the company's role as a top U.S. offshore oil and gas producer and the No. 1 military fuel supplier.
The suspension, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, comes on the heels of BP's Nov. 15 agreement with the U.S. government to plead guilty to criminal misconduct in the Gulf of Mexico disaster, the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The British energy giant agreed to pay $4.5 billion in penalties, including a record $1.256 billion criminal fine.

U.S. shale oil won't flood global market-EOG CEO
Nov 28 (Reuters) - Crude oil extracted from the United States shale formations is not likely to flood the global market because only the Eagle Ford and Bakken formations are driving significant growth, EOG Resources Inc's  chief executive Mark Papa said on Wednesday.
From 2011 to 2015, EOG expects U.S. oil production will grow only 2 million barrels per day to 7.7 million barrels, driven mostly by higher output from the Eagle Ford in South Texas and the Bakken in North Dakota, Papa told the Jefferies Global Energy Conference in Houston.

Argentina says wellhead natural gas prices to rise
BUENOS AIRES, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Argentina will allow wellhead natural gas prices to rise substantially from current levels as the energy-hungry South American country seeks to attract foreign investment into new fields, President Cristina Fernandez said on Wednesday.
Fernandez, who is keen to lure private investment to bring hefty shale energy resources on stream, said wellhead prices would rise to $7.50 per million British Thermal Units.