Oil prices jumped above $67 a barrel on Friday in Asia, extending a big rally from the previous day as surging stock markets fueled investor optimism.
Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 62 cents to $67.56 a barrel by midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, the contract rose $3.59, or 5.6 percent, to settle at $66.94, AP reported.
Traders have gotten whiplash this week as prices jerked up and down on investor uncertainty about the strength of the global economic recovery.
Crude investors were cheered by a jump in US stocks on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.9 percent.

The cost of pumping a barrel of oil out of the ground depends on a variety of factors, including the size and accessibility of the field.

While the worst of a severe recession may be over, investors are cautious about a rebound this year. Signs of weak gasoline consumption and high crude inventories have dampened enthusiasm.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for August delivery rose 0.89 cent to $2.00 a gallon and heating oil gained 0.79 cent to $1.78. Natural gas for August delivery held at $3.74 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent prices rose 57 cents to $70.68 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Production Costs
The cost of pumping a barrel of oil out of the ground depends on a variety of factors, including the size and accessibility of the field. Oil companies are often reluctant to give precise cost information. The following provides estimates of the cost of running a field for OPEC members and other individual countries, obtained from traders and industry analysts.
It also gives the International Energy Agency’s more general assessment of costs for the oil-producing regions of the world.
Saudi Arabian crude is the cheapest in the world to extract because of its location near the surface of the desert and the size of the fields, which allow economies of scale. The operating cost (stripping out capital expenditure) of extracting a barrel in Saudi Arabia has been estimated to be around $1-$2, and the total cost (including capital expenditure) $4-$6 a barrel, Reuters wrote.
Extraction of Iraqi oil is in theory also very cheap, although there are political and security challenges. Industry analysts estimated total costs at between $4-6, although they said some fields could be more expensive.
In the United Arab Emirates, operating and capital costs combined were estimated to be around $7 a barrel.

Deep Water Extraction
Oil extraction from mature and deep water offshore fields is much more expensive than from the accessible hydrocarbon territory of the Persian Gulf. In Nigeria, production in ultra-deep water fields can reach $30 a barrel compared with onshore costs of around $15, according to analysts.
In offshore Angola, it costs around $40 to produce one barrel of oil (operating and capital costs), traders told Reuters.
Operating and capital costs in Algeria, Iran, Libya, Oman and Qatar were all estimated to be around $10-15 a barrel.
In Kazakhstan, where reserves are big and largely unexploited, the cost to produce a barrel for medium-sized producers, such as Kazakh state oil company KazMunaiGas is around $15-18, and for Kazakhstan’s largest operator Tengizchevroil, it is about $10-12, the Kazakh-British Chamber of Commerce said. Analysts said these were operating costs, probably including transport, as it is expensive to move the oil to distant ports.
In Venezuela, where fields tend to be mature and small and it is difficult to make new discoveries, production costs were generally estimated at $20 a barrel (operating and capital costs). Those figures do not include the more expensive Orinoco oil from the country’s sand deposits. One analyst said the extraction of one barrel of Orinoco was around $30 (operating and capital costs).
Ecuador, where fields are also small and the distance to ports add to costs, analysts pegged extraction costs at $20 a barrel.
In the mature British North Sea, where the remaining oil is difficult to access, the industry body Oil & Gas UK said the break-even cost was around $50 a barrel. One analyst said operating and capital costs were $30-40 a barrel.

By Sadeq Dehqan

Over 1,000 domestic and foreign firms participated in the 9th International Exhibition of Construction Industry, which was held at Tehran’s Permanent Fairgrounds during July 28-31.
Close to 820 domestic firms and 280 foreign companies from Italy, Finland, Austria, Britain, Germany, South Korea, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE, Malaysia, and Canada showcased their accomplishments and products in the exhibition.
Companies, active in sectors such as design, architecture, interior design, building elevators, insulation and composite, making doors and windows, piping and fixtures and valves, participated in the four-day undertaking.
The motto of the exhibition was “Increasing Resistance, Lowering Prices and Speedy Construction“. The event aimed at attracting foreign capital in the Iranian construction industry. It also sought to identify strong and weak points in the local construction sector, which could affect hundreds of related industrial branches.
Mohsen Pourshami, manager of a company that produces foam blocks, said using foam blocks is more advantageous than using bricks.
“Bricks are fragile while foam blocks are flexible and have more resistance. Using foam blocks lowers consumption of steel. Foam blocks can be transported more conveniently than bricks. At present, foam blocks are used in constructing 90 percent of buildings. Every square meter of bricks weighs 500 kg while every square meter of foam blocks weighs almost 120 kg,“ he added.
In the past, the materials used in making foam blocks, were combustible and every once in a while a building caught on fire, he recalled.
“But, this problem does not exist any longer,“ he said, adding “Non-combustible materials are used in making foam blocks.“
Pourshami continued that with the country’s access to nuclear technology, there will be no need for importing non-combustible raw materials.
Also, Bahman Moazzami-Goudarzi, manager of a firm that builds slanted ceilings, said these ceilings are light, very beautiful and diverse in color.
“Slanted ceilings are very resistant to fire and adverse climatic conditions and they do not need any insulation,“ he added. He said humidity does not penetrate into slanted ceilings.
“Slanted ceilings are not just used in rural areas or areas that have a high precipitation level. Most buildings in European cities have slanted ceilings. These ceilings will gradually find wider applications in Iranian cities, as they enhance the beauties of buildings and cities,“ he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Siamak Haqiqi, managing director of a company that manufactures double pane glass, said double pane glass windows prevent entry of heat and sound to buildings. “In Tehran, permits are not issued for erecting buildings that do not use double pane glass. Of course, double pane glass is increasingly used in other parts of the country,“ he added.
Also, manager of another company that manufactures glass, said there are over 100 factories in the country that produce double-pane glass. “There are no specific standards regarding the quality of glass manufactured locally and quality varies depending on the factory,“ added Mohammadreza Qadiri.
Pointing to the recession in housing industry, he said, “This stagnation has also affected production of glass and at present factories that produce glass for construction applications use only 50 percent of their output capacity.“
Meanwhile, manager of a mass housing building company said it is necessary to expand industrialized construction activities nationwide. “Once upon a time Iran exported the art of architecture to the world, but today we have fallen behind in this arena,“ added Gholamreza Adibi. He emphasized that industrial expansion of housing industry is possible through sound managerial policies.
During the exhibition, two meetings were also held on industrialization of mass housing building sector and improving e-trade in the housing sector. Also, several specialized training workshops on construction industry were held on the sidelines of the exhibition.

Trade between Iran and Pakistan will reach $1 billion by next year, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran said.
Addressing a press conference ahead of Pakistan Independence Day (Aug. 14), Muhammad Bakhsh Abbasi stated the two countries’ policies are not distant as some say and the necessary proximity of views between the two countries has developed, IRIB reported.
“Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has visited Iran twice. Most of Pak ministers are acquainted with Iranian officials,“ Abbasi noted.
Referring to the Iran-Pakistan growing economic ties, Abbasi underscored the need of visits of industrialists and setting up joint ventures between the two countries. The ambassador said Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline would lay solid foundation for durable economic cooperation.
“Religion, common culture and a shared borderline are three important factors that can consolidate relations between the two nations,“ he added.

Joint Projects
Meanwhile, Ashfaq Hassan Khan, a former economic advisor in Pakistan, stressed the need for joint projects between Iran and Pakistan to face the economic challenges.
Talking to IRNA, he said generally Pak-Iran economic ties are fine, but there is always a room for improvement. The mutual trade should be promoted at advance level, he suggested. “I personally feel we have strong economic ties, but they should be enhanced further by cooperation in energy sector,“ he viewed.
He said Pakistan is keen to expand relations with Iran in all fields.
Commenting on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, Hassan Khan noted that Pakistan is very keen on the project. The project will open more avenues of peace between both countries and benefit them, he added.
He continued that Iran has surplus gas and in future there would be a shortage of natural gas in Pakistan. So, this project would be very helpful in overcoming that shortage, he added.
Hassan Khan said Iran could play a major role in the economic development of Pakistan by providing energy for industrial sector. The energy sector is almost barren in Pakistan and the oil and gas exploration is almost at zero level, so Iranians could help Pakistan in exploring its energy resources.
He said Pakistan electricity demand has increased due to rapid economic development, adding Iran can play a very important role in this regard. “Iran can increase electricity export to Pakistan“, the economist suggested.
He also stressed the need for cooperation between private sectors of both nations to further cement economic relations. Iranian investors can also play a major role in revival of Pak industrial units, he concluded.

Freight Train Due
In another development, Director of Pakistan Railroads Shafiqullah said Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul freight train will leave Islamabad on August 14. The official added that the proposed train service will operate as a pilot project of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in line with agreement signed by the three countries last March.
“The train will run on trial basis. After removing all the bottlenecks, the project will finally come on stream in future“, he said.
“We want to make it a ceremonial occasion to launch the container train service from Islamabad on August 14, Pakistan Independence Day,“ he added.
He explained that the service would be of great advantage to the business community of Pakistan, Turkey and Iran. “Because in the past, the containers used to be sent to Karachi by ship and after unloading were sent forward to respective destinations either by road or rail. This was costing them high.“
Earlier, Pakistani Minister for Railroads Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour had said Iran will provide trans-shipment facilities in Zahedan till a standard gauge line is laid between Zahedan and Mirjaveh.
Bilour noted that Pakistan Railroads is trying to improve the section, but it requires massive investment.
He said out of total 6,506 kilometers Islamabad-Istanbul rail track, the train service covers close to 1,900 km of the distance in Pakistan, 2,570 km in Iran and 2,036 km in Turkey.
The minister continued that Turkey and Iran already have railroads link at their borders and both have freight and passenger train services.
“We are trying to line up soft credit with international financial institutions to resolve the issue related to rail gauge between Pakistan and Iran before it is made a full-grown train service,“ Bilour added.
He said the freight train would initially be dedicated for the transportation of cargo containers and would eventually include other goods and passenger services.
Bilour concluded that by the time, the pilot freight train service gets matured, other ECO member countries including Afghanistan might also join it.

Al-Khaleej Sugar has bought 250,000 tons of raw sugar from Brazil, meant for export to Iran or Iraq, its executive said.
“We bought 250,000 tons from Brazil,“ said Shabbir Baherenwala, trading manager at the Dubai-based sugar refinery, Gulfnews.com wrote.
“This is a regular shipment,“ he said, declining to give further details.
India’s appetite for sugar on the international market has driven sugar futures sharply higher in 2009, after the world’s top sugar consuming nation swung to net importer from exporter this year after a poor domestic harvest.
Al-Khaleej has seldom entered the market in the past six months, a Singapore-based trader said. “They stocked up when there was a lot of sugar around in the last quarter of the last year,“ said a dealer at an international trading house in Singapore.
The sugar was likely destined for Middle East consumption and could end up in Iran or Iraq, the dealer said. “One of the vessels, carrying the Brazilian sugar, is Iranian, so it could be destined for Iran,“ the dealer added.

JapanŐs unemployment rate rose to a six-year high in June and consumer prices fell at a record pace.

The tsunami of joblessness is sweeping the world despite preventive measures and stimulus packages.
Japan’s unemployment rate rose to a six-year high in June and consumer prices fell at a record pace, adding to evidence the domestic economy is struggling to recover even as exports start to improve, Bloomberg reported.
The US unemployment rate rose to a quarter-century high of 9.5 percent in June and in the eurozone it reached a decade high of 9.5 percent in May.
German unemployment edged higher in July, official data showed on Thursday, as the country’s worst recession in 60 years took its toll on the job market and analysts warned that worse was yet to come.

Japanese Deflation
The jobless rate in Japan advanced to 5.4 percent from 5.2 percent in May, the statistics bureau said in Tokyo, higher than the 5.3 percent median forecast of economists surveyed.
Consumer prices, excluding fresh food, the central bank’s preferred gauge, fell a record 1.7 percent in June, a separate report showed.
Economists expect the jobless rate to rise to a record 5.8 percent as companies cut costs.
Deflation may erode profits even as factory output rebounds, further hampering Japan’s recovery from its deepest postwar recession.
“Worsening job prospects will continue to weigh on Japan’s recovery,“ said Yasuhiro Onakado, chief economist in Tokyo at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo. “The export recovery is helping production but capacity utilization is still low and companies are still saddled with excess capacity and employment.“
The yen traded at 95.30 per dollar in Tokyo from 95.46 before the report was published. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.4 percent to 10,304.90, heading for its highest close since Oct. 6, after Sony Corp. posted a smaller than expected quarterly loss.

Extra Workers
Given Japan’s current production levels, companies have 6 million extra workers, the highest ever, the Cabinet Office said last week. A report showed that while output increased 2.4 percent in June from the previous month, it fell 23.4 percent from a year ago.
The number of positions available to each job applicant rose stood at 0.43, a record low, the Labor Ministry said.
Economists regard the ratio as a leading indicator for the unemployment rate.
Consumers have received temporary relief from the downturn from Prime Minister Taro Aso’s 25 trillion yen ($262 billion) in stimulus spending that included measures ranging from cash handouts to tax breaks on fuel-efficient vehicles. The packages helped bolster consumer confidence to an 18-month high in June.
Household spending rose 0.2 percent, a second monthly gain, a separate report showed today. Economists expected outlays to increase 0.5 percent. Retail sales fell 3 percent in June, the government said earlier this week.
“Consumer spending will clearly start to weaken once the impact of the stimulus packages fades,“ said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute in Tokyo.

German Woes
Less than two months before an election in which jobs are a key issue, the German government said that just under 3.5 million were out of work in Europe’s top economy, a rise of 252,000 compared to the previous year.
Over the month, the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent in June, with 52,000 more people out of work.
Adjusted for seasonal factors, the Federal Labor Office said unemployment rose by 30,000 to leave the seasonally-adjusted rate steady at 8.3 percent.
“The recession in the German economy left its traces on the labor market in July,“ said office head, Frank-Juergen Weise.
“Up until now, the effects of the downturn have been comparatively moderate, mainly because the use of part-time work has stabilized the labor market,“ he added.
A state scheme subsidizing firms to cut working hours has thus far prevented a flood of jobless claims but experts have warned that the steady trickle in recent months could soon become a deluge.
Labor Minister Olaf Scholz hailed the figures as a “minor sensation“ given the state of the economy, which the government expects to shrink by a record 6 percent this year before recovering gradually in 2010.
“We must stick to our active labor market policy,“ said Scholz of the Social Democrats, who are challenging Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives in the September 27 polls.
However, speaking later on rolling news channel N24, Weise said, “There are no grounds to sound the all-clear...even if we have reached the lowest point of the recession, we will still have rising unemployment next year.“

Iran and Turkmenistan have decided to increase economic and trade exchanges, an Iranian lawmaker said, describing the decision as among the achievements of a recent visit to Ashkhabad by a delegation of Iranian MPs. “There is a potential for exporting high-quality goods to Turkmenistan at a low cost,“ member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Zohreh Elahian, told Fars News Agency.
Elahian reiterated that the volume of trade exchanges stands at $3 billion. The legislator said the cultural, religious and geographical commonalities of Iran and Turkmenistan encourage the two sides to further strengthen relations. “Discussions over Caspian gas resources were among other topics reviewed during the trip,“ she said, noting that the discussion of the topics can establish a constructive trend for the two sides.
Turkmenistan provides fuel, textiles, electricity, chemicals and foodstuff to Iran. Iran exports engineering materials and chemical products, equipment and machineries, construction materials and electrical goods to Turkmenistan. Iran ranked second in Turkmenistan’s foreign trade in 2008.
Turkmenistan and Iran implemented a range of major projects, including the construction of the Dostluk border reservoir, Tajan-Sarakhs-Mashhad railroad and Korpedze-Kordkoy gas pipeline.

To force Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment program, the US Senate has voted to put pressure on companies selling gasoline to Iran.
A bill, approved on Thursday by the Senate, says companies that continue to sell gasoline and other refined oil products to Iran will be banned from receiving Energy Department contracts to deliver crude to the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Reuters reported.
The measure must now be reconciled with a similar bill passed by the House of Representatives.
In June, a committee in the House of Representatives voted to target Iran’s gasoline imports and its domestic energy sector. Iran imports some 40 percent of its gasoline needs.
The House Appropriations Committee approved by voice vote a measure prohibiting the US Export-Import Bank from helping companies that export gasoline to Iran or support its production at home.
The measure is aimed at pressuring Iran into relinquishing its nuclear program, which the US and the West allege has military purposes.
Tehran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, has repeatedly rejected the claim.
The US Energy Department had previously awarded contracts to supply crude to the US reserve to three of Iran’s gasoline suppliers: Vitol, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Glencore.

A Turkish minister has dismissed reports that a container-load of gold and cash, worth $18.5 billion, has been transferred to Turkey from Iran.
Turkey’s Kanal D channel had earlier reported that an Iranian businessman, Esmael Saffarian-Nasab, had moved $7.5 billion in cash and 20 metric tons of gold to Turkey in October 2008, Presstv reported.
Saffarian-Nasab’s Turkish lawyer, Senol Ozel, in an interview with Kanal D had claimed that his client wants his money back.
Ozel says the Turkish government’s move to adopt new regulations to facilitate foreign investment in the country had encouraged his client to take his fortune to Turkey.
However, Saffarian-Nasab now wants to withdraw his investment--a move that could create a big hole in the Turkish Central Bank’s balance-sheet.
Turkish State Minister Hayati Yazici on Thursday dismissed the report, stressing that the claim is “false and baseless“, Turkey’s official news agency, Anadolu reported.

Contradictory Claims
A Turkish lawyer has claimed that his Iranian client has transferred an $18.5-billion treasure from Iran to Turkey through courier services.
Senol Ozel told Kanal D channel that his client, Esmael Saffarian-Nasab, is a respected Iranian businessman who transferred the money to Turkey through legal channels.
“The container-load of US dollars and gold bullion was delivered to Ankara Customs Office on October 7, 2008,“ Ozel said.
He noted that the container contained $7.5 billion and 20 metric tons of gold.
In a recent speech, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had boasted of the huge fund transfer as an indicator of his government’s success in attracting foreign investment despite the economic downturn in the world.