www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.21.03, 10:23 AM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Car sales in strike-hit Venezuela fell 40.7 percent to 128,623 units in 2002 compared with a year earlier, the Venezuelan Automobile Chamber (CAVENEZ) said on Tuesday.

Nationwide car sales in December, when foes of leftist President Hugo Chavez began a strike to force him to resign, plummeted 91.7 percent to 1,627 units compared with a year earlier when 19,602 units were sold, the chamber reported.

Venezuela has been struggling with a deepening recession and growing political tensions since a brief coup against Chavez last April. The chamber had earlier forecast sales would fall about 35 percent for the year due to the South American nation's sharp economic downturn.

The companies affiliated with CAVENEZ are DaimlerChrysler AG's

(nyse: DCX - news - people)<DCXGn.DE> DaimlerChrysler de Venezuela, Fiat SpA's

<FIA.MI> Fiat Automoviles, Fiat affiliate IVECO Venezuela, Ford Motor Co. (nyse: DCX - news - people), General Motors Corp.'s (nyse: DCX - news - people) General Motors de Venezuela, AB Volvo <VOLVb.ST> affiliate Mack de Venezuela, Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s <7211.T> MMC Automotriz and Toyota Motor Corp.'s <7203.T> Toyota de Venezuela.

The figures represent the total vehicle sales in Venezuela, and also include car models made by non-members of CAVENEZ, such as Mazda Motor Corp. <7261.T> and Volkswagen AG <VOWG.DE>.

www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.21.03, 10:24 AM ET

LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Weak oil stocks BP <BP.L> and Shell dragged Britain's FTSE index to a fresh three month low on Tuesday amid worries about fuel refining margins and concern the possible ending of the Venezuela strike could hurt prices.

News that oil tanker pilots had ended their strike in a key Venezuelan export area dented crude oil prices, as it threatened to increase the flow of crude oil, especially to America.

"BP and Shell are sliding on the back of that," said Martin Dobson, head dealer at NatWest Stockbrokers. BP, which caused concern about refining profitability earlier this month, lost 1.1 percent while Shell <SHEL.L> dipped 1.8 percent.

By 1511 GMT the FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> was down 29.5 points, or 0.8 percent, at 3,749.8.

The index failed to re-establish a base above the 3,800 level after briefly bouncing to 3,185 earlier and looked set to register a loss for the seventh consecutive session.

Early weakness on Wall Street after Monday's closure for Martin Luther King day further unsettled sentiment.

"There's not an awful lot to get really confident about, especially with the overhang of the Iraqi situation," said NatWest's Dobson. "No-one's prepared to take a long-term view."

But stronger telecoms firms BT <BT.L> and Vodafone <VOD.L> helped take up some slack after investment bank Merrill Lynch issued a positive note on the sector.

Shares in mobile phones group Vodafone climbed 0.6 percent after Merrill Lynch raised its rating on the company to "buy" from "neutral".

BT Group topped the blue-chip risers with a 2.2 percent gain after Merrill Lynch repeated its "buy" rating on the stock, saying it expected BT to benefit from cuts to its operating costs and capital expenditure.

Also on the upside, shares in plumbing merchants Wolseley <WOS.L> rose 1.7 percent, while building materials firm Hanson <HNS.L> gained 1.5 percent, buoyed by a surprise jump in U.S. housing starts in December. Both firms have exposure to U.S. markets.

cbs.marketwatch.com By Myra P. Saefong, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 4:03 PM ET Jan. 21, 2003

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Efforts to end Venezuela's eight-week strike failed to put a damper on crude futures Tuesday, with concerns over tighter global supplies in the event of a U.S. war on Iraq taking prices for an expiring crude contract past $35 a barrel.

The price of a barrel of crude for February delivery traded as high as $35.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange -- the highest futures level seen since November of 2000 when prices touched $35.84. The contract closed at $34.61, up 70 cents.

Action in March crude was relatively muted in comparison. The contract, which became the lead-month contract as of Tuesday's close, rose by 23 cents to $33.19 a barrel. It traded between $32.10 and $34 a barrel.

Also on Nymex, gold futures closed above $357, taking cues from the U.S. stock market, dollar and developments overseas. See Metals Stocks.

"The focus of the markets is firmly on Iraq," said BridgetonGlobal.com head analyst Jeff Mokychic.

If the market were to receive confirmation to an end of the Venezuela strike, March crude oil would still likely remain supported above $30 per barrel, he said.

Infinity Brokerage Services' head financial analyst John Person noted that it'll take Venezuela at least three weeks to get back to normal production levels if the workers are fully motivated and eager to work.

If workers aren't motivated, however, "it could take as much as two months to see a complete recovery in the pre-strike output levels," he said.

Oil prices could retest the $29 a barrel in a "short period of time" if supplies and shipments are replenished by a quick resolution by the end of this week, he said. But that's as long as a war doesn't break out in Iraq by that time, he added.

For now, supplies remain tight. Updates on U.S. supplies from the American Petroleum Institute and Energy Department won't be released until Thursday morning, a day late due to Monday's Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. IFR Pegasus expects the data to reveal a 1 million- to 3 million-barrel decline in crude inventories as the week ended Jan. 17.

Efforts on the rise

Michael Fitzpatrick, an analyst at Fimat USA pointed out several diplomatic initiatives Tuesday concerning Venezuela, including ones by the Organization of American States and negotiations mediated by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Additionally, oil tanker workers are reportedly considering an offer from the government aimed at their ending the strike, which began Dec. 2.

In recent days, the level of violence in strife-torn Venezuela has increased.

One man was killed and 27 people were injured Monday when supporters of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez confronted opposition marchers in a town about 20 miles south of Caracas. At least six have died in political violence since the strike began, with the opposition pressing for Chavez to resign or hold new elections for the presidency.

The Chavez government claims that daily oil output is at around 1 million barrels, but strikers counter that it's at half that amount. Venezuela produced around 3 million barrels per day before the strike began.

Over in the Middle East, Taha Yassin Ramadan, an Iraqi vice president, said Tuesday that Iraq will expand its cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors under a new agreement worked out in two days of talks but added he's convinced the U.S. military will eventually stage an attack.

Petroleum-product prices continued lower despite the bounce in crude. February unleaded gasoline fell by 1.01 cents to 90.1 cents a gallon. February heating oil closed at 89.47 cents a gallon, down 0.39 cent.

Also on Nymex, February natural gas shed 10.3 cents to close at $5.433 per million British thermal units, but Fimat's Fitzpatrick said prices are likely to move higher amid forecasts for "extremely cold" temperatures this week and expectations of a large decline in last week's U.S. supplies.

Meanwhile, disappointing quarterly results weighed on most oil-service stocks. The Oil Service Index ($OSX: news, chart, profile) traded down 2.6 percent.

The Reuters/CRB Index, a broad-based measure of the commodity futures market, closed at 242.1, up 0.1 percent. Myra P. Saefong is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco.

cbs.marketwatch.com By Myra P. Saefong, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 4:03 PM ET Jan. 21, 2003

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Efforts to end Venezuela's eight-week strike failed to put a damper on crude futures Tuesday, with concerns over tighter global supplies in the event of a U.S. war on Iraq taking prices for an expiring crude contract past $35 a barrel.

The price of a barrel of crude for February delivery traded as high as $35.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange -- the highest futures level seen since November of 2000 when prices touched $35.84. The contract closed at $34.61, up 70 cents.

Action in March crude was relatively muted in comparison. The contract, which became the lead-month contract as of Tuesday's close, rose by 23 cents to $33.19 a barrel. It traded between $32.10 and $34 a barrel.

Also on Nymex, gold futures closed above $357, taking cues from the U.S. stock market, dollar and developments overseas. See Metals Stocks.

"The focus of the markets is firmly on Iraq," said BridgetonGlobal.com head analyst Jeff Mokychic.

If the market were to receive confirmation to an end of the Venezuela strike, March crude oil would still likely remain supported above $30 per barrel, he said.

Infinity Brokerage Services' head financial analyst John Person noted that it'll take Venezuela at least three weeks to get back to normal production levels if the workers are fully motivated and eager to work.

If workers aren't motivated, however, "it could take as much as two months to see a complete recovery in the pre-strike output levels," he said.

Oil prices could retest the $29 a barrel in a "short period of time" if supplies and shipments are replenished by a quick resolution by the end of this week, he said. But that's as long as a war doesn't break out in Iraq by that time, he added.

For now, supplies remain tight. Updates on U.S. supplies from the American Petroleum Institute and Energy Department won't be released until Thursday morning, a day late due to Monday's Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. IFR Pegasus expects the data to reveal a 1 million- to 3 million-barrel decline in crude inventories as the week ended Jan. 17.

Efforts on the rise

Michael Fitzpatrick, an analyst at Fimat USA pointed out several diplomatic initiatives Tuesday concerning Venezuela, including ones by the Organization of American States and negotiations mediated by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Additionally, oil tanker workers are reportedly considering an offer from the government aimed at their ending the strike, which began Dec. 2.

In recent days, the level of violence in strife-torn Venezuela has increased.

One man was killed and 27 people were injured Monday when supporters of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez confronted opposition marchers in a town about 20 miles south of Caracas. At least six have died in political violence since the strike began, with the opposition pressing for Chavez to resign or hold new elections for the presidency.

The Chavez government claims that daily oil output is at around 1 million barrels, but strikers counter that it's at half that amount. Venezuela produced around 3 million barrels per day before the strike began.

Over in the Middle East, Taha Yassin Ramadan, an Iraqi vice president, said Tuesday that Iraq will expand its cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors under a new agreement worked out in two days of talks but added he's convinced the U.S. military will eventually stage an attack.

Petroleum-product prices continued lower despite the bounce in crude. February unleaded gasoline fell by 1.01 cents to 90.1 cents a gallon. February heating oil closed at 89.47 cents a gallon, down 0.39 cent.

Also on Nymex, February natural gas shed 10.3 cents to close at $5.433 per million British thermal units, but Fimat's Fitzpatrick said prices are likely to move higher amid forecasts for "extremely cold" temperatures this week and expectations of a large decline in last week's U.S. supplies.

Meanwhile, disappointing quarterly results weighed on most oil-service stocks. The Oil Service Index ($OSX: news, chart, profile) traded down 2.6 percent.

The Reuters/CRB Index, a broad-based measure of the commodity futures market, closed at 242.1, up 0.1 percent. Myra P. Saefong is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco.

www.krnv.com

Caracas, Venezuela-AP -- The world oil market is feeling the effects of a strike that's crippled the fifth-biggest oil exporter. Oil prices are rising today as the general strike called by opposition leaders in Venezuela enters its 51st day.

OPEC says it'll be tough to make up for shortages of Venezuelan oil in the United States, because many U-S refineries are designed to process the type of crude oil Venezuela pumps out.

Meantime, mediators are trying to end the strike, which is aimed at ousting President Hugo Chavez (OO'-goh CHAH'-vez).

They include former President Carter, who's met with Chavez and strike leaders.

Diplomats from six nations will meet in Washington on Friday to talk about how to resolve the crisis. They're part of a push called "Friends of Venezuela."