Vienna - The price of

Oil prices fell again on Tuesday by nearly 40 cents to $50.14 per barrel on the declining demand and swine flu.

US Natural Gas gained more than 2% on short covering ahead of the May expiry.

The stocks of crude in the US went up by 4.6 mn barrels, more than twice expected, reported American Petroleum Institute.

The Output of Natural Gas is expected to go down because of a record decline in the number of gas rigs to below 700. This may be balanced by a weak heating demand leading to a steady build up in inventories and mild weather forecast.

Stockholm - Swedish state-owned energy group Vattenfall on Wednesday reported a strong first-quarter 2009 with a rise in sales and operating profits. Operating profit before tax and interest was 12.8 billion kronor (1.55 billion dollars), up 12.6 per cent year-on-year.

First-quarter turnover increased by 15 per cent to 52 billion kronor, Vattenfall said, while net profit was up 12.6 per cent to 8 billion kronor.

"It is a strong result, a great result," chief executive Lars G Josefsson told analysts later.

Petronet LNG, the nation's largest liquefied natural gas importer, on Tuesday reported 70.24% surge in its net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31.

The company posted net profit of Rs 204.35 crore, against Rs 120.03 crore in the same quarter ended March 31, 2008.

Further, during the quarter, total operating income of the company also rose to Rs 2,654.88 crore, as against Rs 1,752.65 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

Oil prices fell for the second straight trading session by nearly 3% to $50.14 per barrel on concerns that the swine influenza may affect the travel and hospitality industry resulting in a further delay in the recovery from the global recession. Investors feared a new blow to an already fragile global economy if trade flows are curbed and manufacturing is hit.

Areva T&D India Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of AREVA France SA has posted a net profit af