Commodities

May 17 2013 8:03 AM

A strong dollar and demand worries kept Brent under pressure on Friday morning after news that the US Federal Reserve may end its monetary stimulus lifted the greenback. Brent is poised to end the week with little change and traded at $104.15 at 9:41 GMT on Friday morning. CNBC reported that three Federal Reserve officials were calling for an end to the US central bank's monetary stimulus program. The news strengthened the dollar and made oil more expensive to holders of other currencies. Moving forward, most will be watching for major changes in the dollar, as the greenback is expected to drive oil prices in the short term.

May 16 2013 7:55 AM

Oil prices continued their decline for the sixth trading session (basis WTI) in row as the current fundamentals point to lower prices. The market remains focused on projections for lower oil demand growth, robust supply and building inventories. Yesterday total crude oil and refined product inventories built again in the US by 2.6 million barrels (see below for a more detailed discussion on this week's inventory report). Further adding to the concern in the market has been macroeconomic data that continues to suggest that the global economy is faltering. Yesterday GDP data out of Europe showed France now moving into recession with the overall EU recession deepening a tad last quarter.

May 16 2013 7:44 AM

Brent crude oil slid toward $103 on Thursday following an unexpected drop in US factory output. The data added to uncertainty about future demand and brought Brent prices down to $103.14 at 9:20 GMT on Thursday morning. A steep drop in US factory output caused concern among investors who worried about the state of the global economy. Many attributed the lack of demand for exports to the ongoing eurozone recession and sluggish growth in China.

May 15 2013 8:31 AM

For the first time in well over a week the spot Nat Gas contract was able to settle above the key $4/mmbtu technical resistance area. The market has been in the midst of a short covering rally since trading began on Monday. The majority of the upside move and breaching of the $4/mmbtu is mostly driven by a technical move as the overall fundamentals have not changed all that much over the last week or so. Technically the spot futures contract is now in a new higher trading range of $4/mmbtu on the support side and $4.16/mmbtu as the upper resistance level. I am still of the view that the market will need fundamentals support to sustain a move to the upside from current levels.

May 15 2013 8:20 AM

Brent crude oil slid toward $102 on Wednesday as rising supply and waning demand kept a lid on prices. The commodity traded at $102.22 at 7:47 GMT on Wednesday morning. The Wall Street Journal reported that a figures from the International Energy Agency on Tuesday showed that output from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries increased to 30.7 million barrels per day from 200,000 bpd. According to the IEA, that exceeds the world's needs by about 1.8 million barrels.

May 14 2013 8:48 AM

Brent crude oil neared $103 on Tuesday as hopes that the US economy was getting back on track countered the commodity's losses due to waning demand. Brent traded steadily at $102.92 at 6:12 GMT on Tuesday morning. The commodity suffered losses on Monday after Chinese refineries dropped their processing to an eight month low. Businessweek reported that the nation's refining slipped to 9.36 million barrels per day, eight percent lower than December's record. China's apparent oil demand also fell to an 8 month low in April and reconfirmed concern about the nation's lack of recovery.

May 13 2013 8:39 AM

Overnight the economic data out of China was yet another sign that the main economic and oil demand growth engine of the world is slowing. China's factory output growth for the month of April came in below expectations. China's April industrial output increased to 9.3 percent in April but below the 9.5 percent market consensus. Fixed asset investment also came in below the expectations growing by 20.6 percent in the first four months of 2013 compared to the same timeframe last year. The market was expecting a growth rate of 21 percent.

May 13 2013 8:11 AM

The sell-side analysts and economists are reminding retail investors that risk assets in the United States have been on quite a tear to the upside recently. A correction now lasts a matter of days, if not hours before the bulls push equity prices even higher.

May 10 2013 8:28 AM

Brent crude oil traded steadily near $104 on Friday morning as mixed signals kept the commodity trading in a tight range. Brent traded at $104.11 at 8:05 GMT on Friday morning after positive US data gave the commodity a lift, but uncertainty in China kept a lid on prices.