Commodity Corner: Crude Rallies Along with Equities

- Commodity Corner: Crude Rallies Along with Equities

Monday, August 15, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by Matthew V. Veazey

Light sweet crude oil for September delivery gained $2.50 Monday to settle at $87.88 a barrel.

Rallies in equities markets worldwide, coupled with a weaker dollar, propelled oil futures forward. Major merger announcements Monday by heavyweights such as Google and Transocean helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to finish the day 1.9 percent and 2.18 percent higher, respectively.

The U.S. Dollar, meanwhile, weakened against other major currencies after a monthly Federal Reserve Bank of New York report showed worsening business conditions in the Empire State. A weaker greenback makes dollar-denominated crude oil a better buy for investors holding other currencies. The New York Fed's survey revealed falling orders, decreasing prices, plunging capital expenditures, and a future general business conditions index hitting its lowest point since February 2009.

The WTI peaked at $88.05 and bottomed out at $84.40. Brent futures settled at $109.91 a barrel, a $1.88 day-on-day gain and four cents shy of Monday's intraday high. The September Brent contract fell to $108.20 earlier in the session.

Thanks in part to milder temperatures in much of the U.S., August natural gas futures lost four cents to settle at $4.02 per thousand cubic feet. The front-month contract price fluctuated from $3.95 to $4.06.

The price of a gallon of reformulated gasoline gained a nickel to end the day at $2.87. August gasoline traded within a range from $2.81 to $2.88.

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Commodity Corner: Crude Climbs on Equities, Mideast

Commodity Corner: Crude Climbs on Equities, Mideast

Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by  Saaniya Bangee

Crude futures advanced 0.8 percent Tuesday on stronger equities and doubts on whether Libyan rebels can resume crude exports within a week.

Tuesday's stock market rally helped oil prices snap out of a 3-day slump, settling at $104.79 a barrel. The 81-cent gain came in anticipation of increased oil demand in the U.S. As the first quarter for 2011 nears close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index both gained 0.7 percent in afternoon trading.

Earlier Tuesday, prices fell to $102.70 a barrel on Libyan rebels' promise to swiftly return crude exports to markets. Traders remain weary as to how quickly and capable Libya will be in resuming exports, along with the remaining uncertainty in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, natural gas futures for April delivery fell by 3.1 percent to settle at $4.24 per thousand cubic feet. The April contract expired at Tuesday's settlement, which traders seized as an opportunity to cash out previous profits.

The Energy Information Administration reported 66.67 billion cubic feet a day, 0.5 percent lower, for U.S. natural gas production in the lower 48 states. The drop was still 6.8 percent higher from year-earlier levels.

Natural gas prices fluctuated between $4.195 and $4.37 Tuesday.
Front-month gasoline ended up Tuesday, settling at a session high of $3.05 a gallon. The session bottomed out at $3.01 a gallon.