News with Tags "Crude"

Investing.com - Oil prices slumped in U.S. trading on Thursday after a widely-followed Chinese output barometer missed expectations and stoked fears the global economy still faces headwinds and will demand less energy and fuels than anticipated.

A weaker dollar curbed oil's losses.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded down 0.78% at USD93.54 a barrel on Thursday, off from a session high of USD94.19 and up from an earlier session low of USD92.24.

A preliminary reading of China's HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 49.6 in May from a final reading of 50.4 in April, missing market expectations for a 50.5 reading.

China is the world's second-largest consumer of oil, and the disappointing output numbers sent crude prices falling on sentiment that global demand for goods produced in the Asian giant's all-important manufacturing sector may be weaker than once thought.

A weaker dollar, however, supported oil prices.

Earlier Thursday, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis James Bullard said that the U.S. central bank wasn't "that close" to scaling back stimulus measures.

Stimulus tools such as the Fed's monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program weaken the dollar to spur recovery, and talk of their staying in place these days can soften the greenback quickly.

A weaker greenback makes oil an attractively priced commodity in dollar-denominated exchanges, especially in the eyes of investors holding other currencies.

Elsewhere on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for July delivery were down 0.66% at USD101.93 a barrel, up USD8.39 from its U.S. counterpart.

Investing.com - Investing.com offers an extensive set of professional tools for the Forex, Commodities, Futures and the Stock Market including real-time data streaming, a comprehensive economic calendar, as well as financial news and technical & fundamental analysis by in-house experts.
Read more News on Investing.com or Follow us on Twitter at @ Newsinvesting

Investing.com - Oil prices dropped in U.S. trading on Wednesday after official data revealed that gasoline stockpiles rose way more than expected last week, prompting fears less motorists will hit the road during the U.S. summer driving season.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded down 1.88% at USD94.37 a barrel on Wednesday, off from a session high of USD96.19 and up from an earlier session low of USD94.23.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 338,000 barrels in the week ended May 17, compared to expectations for a decline of 778,000 barrels.

Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 394.6 million barrels as of last week.

The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 3.02 million barrels, well above expectations for an increase of 22,000 barrels, which sent crude prices falling on fears less Americans may be traveling this summer.

The U.S. is the world's biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.

A stronger dollar weakened oil prices as well.

In prepared testimony in Congress earlier, Bernanke said ultra-loose monetary policy was providing "significant benefits" to the economic recovery and reiterated that the bank's asset-purchasing program will remain in place for now.

Afterwards, Bernanke said the U.S. central bank may scale back its stimulus measures "in the next few meetings" if the labor market makes noted improvements, which strengthened the U.S. dollar.

Stimulus measures, such as the Fed's monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program, weaken the dollar by flooding the economy full of liquidity to keep interest rates low and encourage investing and hiring, and talk of their dismantling tends to strengthen the U.S. currency.

A stronger greenback makes oil a less attractive commodity in dollar-denominated exchanges, especially in the eyes of investors holding other currencies.

Also strengthening the dollar was the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent monetary policy meeting, which revealed that some policymakers favored winding down stimulus measures in June.

Elsewhere on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for July delivery were down 1.29% at USD102.57 a barrel, up USD8.20 from its U.S. counterpart.

Investing.com - Investing.com offers an extensive set of professional tools for the Forex, Commodities, Futures and the Stock Market including real-time data streaming, a comprehensive economic calendar, as well as financial news and technical & fundamental analysis by in-house experts.
Read more News on Investing.com or Follow us on Twitter at @ Newsinvesting

Investing.com - Crude oil futures were lower on Wednesday, as investors looked ahead to closely-watched weekly supply data on stockpiles of crude and refined products from the U.S. Energy Information Administration later in the day.

Traders were also jittery ahead of comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at USD95.84 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.35% on the day.

New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 0.7% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD95.53 a barrel.

Oil traders looked ahead to data from the U.S. government on oil and fuel supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world's largest oil consumer.

The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles declined by 0.8 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories were forecast to rise by a modest 0.1 million barrels.

After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by 0.53 million barrels last week, defying expectations for a drop of 0.36 million barrels.

Gasoline stocks surged 3.1 million barrels, compared to expectations for a 0.1 million barrel increase.

Investors also remained cautious ahead testimony at the U.S. Joint Economic Committee by Ben Bernanke, amid speculation over whether the U.S. central bank will begin to scale back its asset purchase program this year.

The minutes of the Fed's May meeting are to be released later in the trading day.

On Tuesday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the Fed should continue its bond buying and make adjustments as the economy changes.

The U.S. is the world's biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for June delivery shed 0.55% to trade at USD103.32 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD7.48 a barrel.

The gap between the contracts narrowed to the lowest level since January 2011 last week, amid an improving production outlook in the North Sea and indications of declining stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex oil futures.

Investing.com - Investing.com offers an extensive set of professional tools for the Forex, Commodities, Futures and the Stock Market including real-time data streaming, a comprehensive economic calendar, as well as financial news and technical & fundamental analysis by in-house experts.
Read more News on Investing.com or Follow us on Twitter at @ Newsinvesting