Commodities
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Brent Lower on Ample Supply and Waning DemandMay 24 2013 8:40 AM
Further indications of a slow global economic recovery coupled with ample supply set crude futures up for their largest weekly drop since mid April on Friday. Brent prices slipped toward $102 and traded at $102.45 at 9:17 GMT on Friday morning.
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Energy - Balancing the Bonanza: Interview with Mark ThomaMay 23 2013 11:53 AM
If you want an objective view of energy, ask an economist, who can tell you what to expect to pay at the pump in the coming years, and why, as well as what to expect from medium- and long-term economic growth and what the real drivers will be. These are questions that are crucial to a pending decision by the US government over natural gas exports, and while we know where big oil stands versus its manufacturing rivals—it's the economist who can set things straight. Mark Thoma is a macroeconomist and time-series econometrician at the University of Oregon. His research focuses on how monetary policy affects the economy, and he has also worked on political business cycle models. Mark is currently a fellow at The Century Foundation, a columnist at The Fiscal Times, an analyst at CBS MoneyWatch, and he blogs daily at Economist's View.
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Brent Slips Toward $100 on Strong Dollar and Weak Chinese PMI
May 23 2013 8:05 AM
Brent crude oil dropped below $102 on Thursday morning after the dollar hit new three year highs on Wednesday following the release of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes and Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to congress. The commodity traded at $101.61 at 7:39 GMT on Thursday morning after Chinese data continued to drag prices down.
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Brent Dips on US Demand WoesMay 22 2013 10:43 AM
Brent crude oil fell on Wednesday after an unexpected rise in US gasoline stockpiles reignited worries that the summer driving season's demand in the number one oil consuming nation may be weaker than anticipated. The commodity traded at $103.21 at 9:18 GMT on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute released data that showed that US gasoline inventories jumped by 3 million barrels last week. The figures indicated that the nation is well supplied as it moves into the summer, which tends to be a peak driving season.
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Commodities Are In The RedMay 21 2013 3:27 PM
The slowdown of the Chinese economy translates into a beating for silver, gold and others commodities.
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Brent Steady Near $105 Ahead of FED Minutes May 20 2013 9:03 AM
Brent crude oil traded steadily at $104.62 on Monday morning at 5:58 GMT as the commodity inched towards $105 on improving economic data and strong equity markets. However, a tepid demand outlook and market oversupply kept a lid on prices. Last week, the International Energy Agency forecast both waning oil demand growth and increasing supply which put pressure on Brent prices. At the moment, the markets are well supplied; and with most of the world's largest consumers struggling to kick start their economies, crude demand has shown no signs of improvement.
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Transocean Has Bittersweet News For Carl IcahnMay 17 2013 2:30 PM
A sweeping majority of Transocean shareholders voted down Icahn's proposal for a $4 a share dividend and voted out chairman Michael Talbert.
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Strong Dollar Weighs on Brent PricesMay 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.
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Abercrombie Signs On To Workers' Rights Accord in BangladeshMay 16 2013 12:06 PM
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) has joined several other retailers in signing an accord aimed at improving factory safety in Bangladesh.
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Oil prices starting the day in negative territory 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.
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Nat Gas steady ahead of EIA inventory report May 16 2013 7:49 AM
Nat Gas futures remain in a short term upward move with the spot contract now remaining above the key $4/mmbtu for the third day in a row. As I have been discussing in detail in the newsletter I view the current move above the $4/mmbtu to be primarily technically driven as the current fundamentals have not changed and are neutral at best. The spot contract is now in a $4 to $4.16/mmbtu trading range. Whether or not the market is going to be able to remain in this range and even move above it will be very dependent on what is in store with the upcoming summer cooling season (yet to get underway).
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Brent Nears $103 on Falling StockpilesMay 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.
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Chinese Rush To Ghana For Gold, Monopolize Small-Scale MinesMay 15 2013 1:13 PM
The people of Shanglin county in southern China have ventured to an unlikely place to seek their fortunes.
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Nat Gas futures still above $4/mmbtu level 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.
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Frances falls into recession May 15 2013 8:27 AM
The growing market concern over the weakening oil fundamental picture is continuing to pressure oil prices with the complex declining for the fourth trading session in a row. The fact that the US dollar index was also strong yesterday contributed to the selling in the oil pits. The rally in equity markets… normally a positive driver for oil prices… was largely ignored with the strong US dollar and prospects for weaker demand turning out to be the main negative price drivers for the complex.
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Brent Slips as Supply Outpaces DemandMay 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.
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Oil prices still on defensive May 14 2013 8:54 AM
Oil prices are drifting lowering in overnight trading as the bearish fundamental outlook continues to weigh on prices. Both Brent and WTI have declined for the last several trading sessions with both now back into a new lower trading range. Although the IEA did not lower its oil demand forecast (see below for the highlights from today's report) it did paint a bearish picture on the supply side indicating that the market is biased to the oversupplied side of the equation. The short to medium term fundamental outlook remains the same… oil demand is faltering, supply is robust and growing and US crude oil inventories are at the highest level since the 1930's.
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Brent Steadies on Hopes of US RecoveryMay 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.
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CFTC Investigating Commodities MarketsMay 14 2013 1:25 AM
The CFTC is investigating the legitimacy of more than 1 million energy and metals transactions by the biggest traders.
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Oil prices lower on China data 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.


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