NEW YORK – Oil and gasoline futures fell Thursday as investors turned their attention away from tropical storms and to the cooling economy and falling stock market.
Natural gas futures ended a volatile day higher despite a government report that showed inventories growing more than expected.
The stock market tumbled again as concerns about economic conditions were exacerbated by more bad news from the mortgage sector, and by dismal reports on housing construction and employment.
“That in turn has once again raised fears that oil demand will fall,” wrote Addison Armstrong, an analyst with TFS Energy Futures LLC in Stamford, Conn., in a research note. Read more
NEW YORK – Oil and gasoline futures fell Thursday as investors turned their attention away from tropical storms and to the cooling economy and falling stock market.
Natural gas futures ended a volatile day higher despite a government report that showed inventories growing more than expected.
The stock market tumbled again as concerns about economic conditions were exacerbated by more bad news from the mortgage sector, and by dismal reports on housing construction and employment.
“That in turn has once again raised fears that oil demand will fall,” wrote Addison Armstrong, an analyst with TFS Energy Futures LLC in Stamford, Conn., in a research note. Read more
U.S. stock futures fell after Countrywide Financial Corp. said it borrowed $11.5 billion to stem mortgage-market losses and a Federal Reserve member said only a “calamity” would justify an interest-rate cut.
Countrywide, which led the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a drop that erased its gains for the year yesterday, tumbled for a sixth day on concern the largest U.S. mortgage company is facing a shortage of cash amid a rout in credit markets. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. also retreated. Home Depot Inc. slipped after the government said builders started work on the fewest homes in a decade in July.
S&P 500 futures expiring in September dropped 10.7 to 1,403.7 as of 8:58 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 76 to 12,845 and Nasdaq 100 Index futures lost 12 to 1,866.5. Read more
OIL surged above $73 a barrel yesterday after a larger than expected drop in US crude supplies and fears that a gathering storm in the Atlantic could disrupt output in the world’s largest energy consumer.
US crude futures rose $1,14 to $73,52 a barrel by midafternoon, adding to a 76c gain the previous session. London Brent crude climbed 90c to $71,41 a barrel.
US crude stocks fell 5,2-million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said, surpassing analysts’ expectations for a 2,3-million barrel drop.
“People are going react to this bullishly. We are at a critical point, the economy needs prices to go down,†said Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover. Read more
Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 95 cents to settle at $73.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading over $74 earlier, and September natural gas fell 7.6 cents to settle at $6.864 per 1,000 cubic feet after rising more than 21 cents earlier.
September gasoline rose 3.5 cents to settle at $2.0088 a gallon, and Nymex heating oil futures rose 4.44 cents to $2.0269 a gallon.
At the pump, meanwhile, the average national price of a gallon of gas fell 0.5 cent overnight to $2.762, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. — tulsaworld
World oil prices fell steeply on Thursday as hefty declines on world stock markets left traders fretting about potentially risky investments in the commodities markets, analysts said.
Traders said some speculators and investment funds were moving cash into more secure investments and out of riskier holdings, and that some of this movement had dented the oil market.
New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, dived 2.33 dollars to close down at 71.00 dollars per barrel.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for September delivery sank 2.22 dollars to settle at 69.42 dollars per barrel.
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Crude oil futures took a serious spill Thursday at the New York Mercantile Exchange, while natural gas managed to eke out a gain.
September West Texas intermediate crude plummeted $2.37, or more than 3%, to $70.96 a barrel. Reformulated gasoline lost 3 cents to about $1.98 a gallon, and heating oil fell 5 cents, also to around $1.98 a gallon.
Natural gas tacked on 1 cent to $6.88 per million British thermal units.
The Nymex floor session wrapped up as every other major U.S. market was still being hit hard. Stocks recovered in the last hour. For crude oil though, it’s now at levels last seen in late June.
The slide in energy futures occurred even while the first major storm concerns of the year build. Hurricane Dean, currently situated approximately 250 miles east of Barbados, is moving westward and potentially could impact the Gulf of Mexico. Read more