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Show Late Buying Pushes Dow to Record Close Mexican, Venezuelan Oil Chiefs Embark on Unity Tour of Globe Hy Maurice Guindi Associated Pros Writer I'AIIU). Egypt - Thu oil ministers it Venezuela and Mexico disclosed ! i iday they are traveling around the glulie to urge cooperation by OIEU EC producers to bring orand nun-0der to the u orld s cliaot ic oil inai kct Sources in the Egyptian oil ministry. meanwhile, said Egypt had reduced oil production for a third time in two weeks Oil prices have plunged by about a third in the open market this year, complicating the huge debt problems ol some highly populated countries, including Mexico and Egypt. which are not members ol the Organization of Petroleum Exporting (outlines, and Venezuela, which is a founding member of olEC With OPEC battling to preserve its share of a shrinking oil market, com- lli I bined production of its 13 members now vastly exceeds its own production limits Before it tries to limit production, it has been insisting that cooperate by lowering output to help dry up an oil glut ami support prices Sources in the Egyptian oil ministry. speaking on condition they not be identilied. said Egypt had lowered its production to about 670.000 barrels ot crude oil daily. 23 percent below its former output of 870.000 barrels. The drop, yet to be officially announced, was an option reserved under a two-stereduction that was disclosed Jan. 27. when output was slashed to 720.000 barrels Venezuelan Uil Minister Arturo Hernandez Urisanti. the current OPEC chairman, announced the Latin unity mission after meeting for almost two hours with oil ministers inns OuoU Decline Prices Continue Recovery Crude-O- il Open-Mark- et NEW YORK (AP) Prices ol crude oil rose sharply on the open - market Friday, extending a recovlows to a ery from seven-yea- r third straight day But prices remained about a third lower than at the start of the year and well below the closing prices at the end of the previous week. While prices rose in commodities and the spot market, oil prices quoted by major oil companies continued to decline. catching up with the earlier slide. Mobil Corp. said that effective Saturday, it is reducing the price it will pay for West Texas Intermediate crude oil by $2 a barrel to $22.75. It was the fourth cut of the year by Mobil, which was paying $27.75 a barrel for the major grade of C.S. oil as 1936 began. Sun Co cut its contract price for West Texas Intermediate by $1 a barrel to $19.50 and Unocal Corp said it reduced its price $2 on Thursday to $20 50. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, where West Texas Intermediate for March delivery bottomed out at $15.44 a barrel on Tuesday, prices shot up $1.40 to $17.85 in the early going Friday befpre giving some ground to close the week at $17.68, up $1 23 open-mark- from the previous day. Just 2s months ago. West Tex- - as Intermediate soared as high as $31.70 a barrel on the Mercantile Exchange, and prices were above $25 last month West Texas Intermediate closed last week at $18 83 a barrel In the spot market, where oil nut covered by long-tersupply contracts is sold. West Texas Intermediate for March delivery was quoted Friday at $17.50 a barrel, up $1.05 for the day. Peter Beutel. an oil trading ana-st at the commodities firm Rudolf Wolff Futures Inc., said a reduction in oil production by Egypt and a move toward cooperation among some OPEC and countries contributed to the price rise in oil markets. Oil ministers of Venezuela, a founding member of the Organiza-tioof Petroleum Exporting Mexico Countries, and and Egypt, met Friday in Cairo. The rapid tall in oil prices is especially painful to those countries. The ministers of Mexico and Venezuela have launched a joint effort to convince other oil producers of the need to work together to restore order to markets glutted with oil Traders who earlier had bet on declining prices by selling borrowed oil were having to pay a premium to find oil available for prompt delivery to fulfill their contracts, he said. non-OPE- n non-OPE- debt-ridde- n F rancisco Labastida Ochoa of Mcxi-cKandil of Egypt and Abdel-Had- Sri bum' The mission apparently grew out of a call for cooperation by a five-memb- OPEC committee that Hernandez Orisanti headed earlier this week in Vienna, Austria The panel called for a producers conference to discuss the collapse of oil prices "I believe cooperation ol all ol them OPEC and is needed to stabilize the market." Hernandez Grusanti told reporters. "1 don't think a single group of countries whether OPEC members or not. can stabilize the oil market by itself " NEW YORK Saturday Morning 8, 19SG non-UPE- Labastida said while possible strategies are under consideration, "it is not possible to specify them until we gel the reaction of other countries as well The three countries gathered here have some weight and influence on the market, but the behavior of the market does not depend solely on us. If other countries do not cooperate with us. it is virtually impossible for us alone to stabilize the market. We are trying to sum together the wills of all." From Egypt, the Latin American officials traveled to Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter. Mexico and Venezuela announced price reductions last weekend after their presidents agreed at a summit meeting to coordinate pricing strategies Egypt earlier had lowered prices of its varying grades of crude by between $3.50 and $4.65 a barrel That decision was taken simultaneously with the cutting uf production. first by 1UU.U0U barrels a day. then an additional 50.000 with an option for the final 50.000 barrels daily that ministry sources said now has been implemented. It was unclear how many days the new. lower production figure has been in effect. Although no figures were available. ministry sources said the production cuts were coming mainly from Egypt's exports rather than from oil consumed domestically. At 870.000 barrels a day. Egypt was exporting about half its production Israel is a major customer ol Egypt, which also sells oil throughout Europe. Asia and Africa Oil is Egypt's second largest source of hard currency after money sent home by Egyptians working abroad. The market's conditions have caused serious concern within President Hosni Mubarak's government because of the precipitous drop in oil receipts the country faces. Mubarak said in a late January magazine interview that every drop of one dollar a barrel would cost Egypt $70 million a year in hard currency. even at production levels then in effect. debt-lade- n Section B page A sunk The 1 Im-isl- business February i nidiket roared to its third record i of the week Ftnluy in a Lite buy mg rush that reversed declines caused by government jobless stalls tics and a court threat to the new led oral deficit reduction law Analysts said Wall Street rebound ed because of what they called the underlying longterm trends m the market and because of investors who jumped in after prices fell The Dow Jones average of 3U industrials. knot ked as low as 1.576 83 during the day. surged late in the session and finished at an unprecedented cluse of 1.613 42. topping the record set Thursday by 12 73 points It was the third time in the week that Wall Street's mdica tor set a record On Monday, the Dow Jones industrials rose 23 28 points to 1.594 27 and flirted w it h the el fur most ol the week Earlier in the day. the maiket was stunned when the Labor Department said civilian unemployment lull from 6.9 percent to 6.7 percent in January with the creation of 565.000 jobs. Some investors v lowed the news as a sign the Federal Reserve Board will not lower interest rates to stimulate the economy. The market took a second hit when a Washington com t ruled that a central provision of Hie Cramm-Rudmalaw, which return os a balanced federal budget by 1991. is unconstitutional. This also was scum as a signal that interest rates imght remain high, which lends to depivss stocks However, analysts pointed ouDthe law is not dead yet and the i tiling "will 15 Wells Fargo Agrees to Buy Crocker best-know- n 1 SAN FRANCISCO iCPI) - Wells & Co., has agreed to buy Crocker National Horn its British owner. Midland Bank, lor a little over $1 billion, it was announced Fargo tiUU-le- non-far- Friday The purchase, if approved by Wells Fargo shareholders and government regulatory agencies, would involve a transfer of cash and stock from Wells Fargo to Midland lor all ol the shares of Crocker A joint announcement in San Francisco and London said the purchase price, subject tu adjustment at the time the sale is completed, would be approximately $1 UH billion. Approximately 4 9 percent ol outstanding shares of Wells Fargo at the tune the sale is closed will be turned over to Midland n be appealed to the Supreme Coin I. which leaves nothing to block the law s implementation of automatic spending cuts scheduled to take place March "The initial response was all black then it turned gray, and the market snapped back. "said Robert Colby, an analyst with Smith Barney. Harris Upham & Co. a New Yoi k invest ment firm 'People who might have sold on the news realized the market just didn't want to go down any further and wanted to jump back in " lie said (I'uimng stocks held a 3 2 margin over losers on the New York Slock 1 Exchange alter lagging early in the session by a 3 1 ratio Dollar Mixed as Snowstorm In East Subdues Trading Wells Fargo plans to issue up to cummon stock in connection with the deal. Of this $75 million worth will be issued to Midland. along with $250 to $350 million in preferred shares, the announcement said. We believe that this acquisition is consistent with our strategy of emphasizing domestic banking, since Crocker Bank has essentially no foreign exposure. said Carle E. chairman and chief executive of Wells Fargo Reichardt said Crocker Bank's $300 million of new NEW YORK (AP) - The ,dollar turned mixed Friday in U.S. trading that was subdued by a snowstijrm on the East Coast Earlier in the day. the dolltir was boosted by news that the naliw's unemployment rate fell in Jantiry. It rose further, but briefly, after a judicial panel rejected the cote jrf a new law designed to reduce the federal budget deficit. l. branch system "has substantial strength throughout California, particularly in the southern part ol the state." Wells Fargo, the third largest bank in California, is stronger in the northern half of the. state. Wells Fargo, winch has escaped some of the worst loan problems affecting other money center banks, reported $190 million in earnings for 1985. up from $169.3 a year earlier. Crocker National Corp. reported $38 million profit for 1985. recovering from a loss of $324 million in 1984. Cold prices also were mated. Bul- lion was quoted at $339.50 an ounce at Republic National Bank at 4 pm EST. up $2 25 from Thursc'av's late bid The dollar advanced early in the morning, when the Labur Department announced that unemployment fell from 6.9 percent to 6.7 percent in January. More significantly. the,department also reported a sharp rise in non ( farm payrolls last that U.S. economic ating That prompted US. interest rates near-term- month, indicating growth is acceler- that speculation would rise in the . Higher interest rates would make the dollar a more attractive invest ment The dollar bounced higher tempo fed lardy after a special three-judge Washington declared the core of the new law w Inch forces automatic spending cuts to balance the federal budget by 1991 The court said the Gramm-Rud-maact violates required separation of powers between the president and Congress. But the decision allows the first $117 billion round of spending cuts under the law tu take effect March 1. pending the outcome of an appeal filed almost immediately with the Supreme Com t era! court in n t already reduced mens wool sweaters and outerwear. . . for total savings of up to 75 Sweaters include solids and patterns in a variety of pullover, cardigan, and sleeveless styles. Outerwear includes a variety of fabrics. leathers and suedes in various waistlcngths. II Arthur Frank Use your Arthur Frank Charge f MasterCard American Express Visa C' y C ,i 1, ; t , ! |
