Crude Rises After 3-Day Decline Amid Clashes in Iraq Oil Region

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose, snapping a three- day decline, amid escalating violence near one of Iraq's main oil producing regions.

Clashes between Iraqi forces and fighters loyal to Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr left at least 18 people dead and 40 hurt in the southern city of Basra. Al-Sadr supporters threatened a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience. Oil had dropped 10 percent from last week's record of $111.80 a barrel.

``There are a lot of reasons to buy at these levels,'' said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. ``If it stays above $100 a barrel, the speculative element will come back.''

Crude oil for May delivery rose as much as 74 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $101.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract traded at $101.14 a barrel at 12:51 p.m. London time.

Experts: China's crude consumption up 4.5 percent in February

China's crude consumption will rise 4.5 percent year on year in February but slightly lower than last year's growth due to the slipping economic growth and increasing trips by car, according to CNPC.

Amongst, gasoline and diesel consumption increased 5.5 percent to 42.5 million tons year on year, and kerosene consumption rose 8 percent to 3.2 million tons.

After oil and rice crises, a power crisis

MANILA, Philippines - More bad news: things are going to get worse before they get any better for Filipinos. First, there is the oil crisis; the price of crude oil is going through the roof in the world market. Then there is the rice crisis; price of the grain is rising and there is an impending shortage. And now comes an impending power crisis; we cannot generate enough electricity because there is a worldwide shortage of coal. With the coal-powered generating plants unable to produce enough electricity the other plants using hydro, thermal, diesel and wind won’t be able to cover up the shortage, especially now in summer when there is a big demand for cooling from air conditioners. So expect frequent brownouts.

Diesel running short in Guangdong

Truck drivers in Guangdong are struggling to keep their vehicles on the road, as the province suffers its latest diesel shortage.

"I've been to three gas stations across the city today but with no luck," Zhong Xingguo, a driver for a logistics firm in the Huangpu district of Guangzhou, told China Daily yesterday.

"I will have to stay up late tonight or get up early tomorrow and try again."

Zhong said the diesel shortage has been so bad over the past 10 days that his boss has had to turn down orders, especially long-distance ones, and about half of the firm's 100-odd freight vehicles are now off the road.

Top scientists warn against rush to biofuel

Gordon Brown is preparing for a battle with the European Union over biofuels after one of the government's leading scientists warned they could exacerbate climate change rather than combat it.

In an outspoken attack on a policy which comes into force next week, Professor Bob Watson, the chief scientific adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said it would be wrong to introduce compulsory quotas for the use of biofuels in petrol and diesel before their effects had been properly assessed.

"If one started to use biofuels ... and in reality that policy led to an increase in greenhouse gases rather than a decrease, that would obviously be insane," Watson said. "It would certainly be a perverse outcome.