Oil prices mixed in Asia on US non-farm payrolls report
SINGAPORE: Oil prices were mixed in tepid Asian trade Friday as traders locked in profits ahead of the release of US data expected to show rising unemployment in the world”s largest economy, analysts said.
New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, gained 16 cents to 82.17 dollars a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for September delivery shed three cents to 81.58 dollars. Traders were consolidating their positions before the release of a key US non-farm payrolls report to be released later Friday, said Ong Yi Ling, an investment analyst with Phillip Capital in Singapore.
“I think for the earlier part of the day, people will lock in profits” before an expected crude price dip when the report, which analysts forecast will show already high unemployment rising, is released, she said.
Most economists believe July saw non-farm payrolls fall by 87,000 and the unemployment rate edge up to 9.6 percent, raising more doubts about the fragile economic recovery.
The pessimistic outlook for the non-farm payrolls comes on the heels of a US Labor Department report showing initial jobless benefit claims climbed 4.1 percent to 479,000 in the week to July 31.
The numbers confounded most analysts” expectations of a fall to 455,000.
Oil prices slide in Asian trade
SINGAPORE: Oil prices headed down in Asian trade Thursday despite a dip in US crude reserves as distillate and gasoline inventories unexpectedly rose, analysts said.
New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, fell 22 cents to 82.25 dollars a barrel in the afternoon. Brent North Sea crude for September delivery shed 14 cents to 82.06 dollars.
Oil markets were hit by data from the US Department of Energy late Wednesday showing a sharp increase in US distillate and gasoline inventories even as crude stockpiles fell more sharply than expected, analysts said.
Oil turns higher in Asian trade
SINGAPORE: Oil prices turned higher in Asian trade Thursday on bargain-hunting and helped by a fall in the dollar, but analysts said sentiment suffered from slower US energy demand and weaker stocks markets.
Analysts said it was unlikely oil prices would break out of the psychological 80-dollar level in the near term as the global economic recovery still faces several challenges.
In addition, oil consuming and producing nations appear comfortable with the current range of 70-80 dollars a barrel, they said.
New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, was up 20 cents at 77.19 dollars a barrel in afternoon trade.
London”s Brent North Sea crude for September rose 12 cents to 76.18 dollars.
Analysts said the weaker dollar spurred some buying because oil is traded in the US currency, making the commodity cheaper for holders of stronger units.
The dollar lost ground in Asian trade Thursday after a warning from the US Federal Reserve that the world”s top economy was slowing in some areas, confirming the view that recovery is stalling.
Asian stock markets also fell Thursday on concerns about the US economic recovery.
Ken Hasegawa, energy desk manager at Newedge brokerage in Tokyo, said oil prices were likely to trade within range in the near term.
“We need a very strong recovery worldwide in order to see a sharp rise in oil prices,” he told media.
Reports of a sharp and unexpected jump in US crude stockpiles further weighed on the oil market, which was already suffering from the effects of weaker American consumer confidence.
Oil hovers around 77 dollars in Asia
SINGAPORE: Oil extended losses in Asian trade Wednesday, hovering around 77 dollars a barrel as waning consumer confidence in the United States affected investors” appetite.
New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, was down 11 cents at 77.39 dollars a barrel in afternoon trade.
London”s Brent North Sea crude for September was flat at 76.13 dollars.
“Falling consumer confidence (in the United States) and the growing likelihood of a double-dip in house prices have put a further dent in the already deteriorating outlook for consumption growth,” research house Capital Economics said.
“Without consumers on board, the economic recovery is looking dangerously vulnerable.”
The United States is the world”s biggest economy and the largest energy consuming nation.
Oil prices tumbled in US trade Tuesday after a closely-watched survey showed that American consumer confidence had plunged to its worst level in five months due to concerns about unemployment amid an uncertain economic outlook.
The Conference Board, a business research firm, said its consumer confidence index, which had declined sharply in June, retreated further this month.
The index fell to 50.4 points from 54.3 last month and is now at its lowest level since February.
“It appears that lower equity prices, signs of a slowdown in activity and fears that the jobs recovery is fading have wiped out the previous optimism,” Capital Economics added.
Oil inched up amid doubts about US, eurozone economies
SINGAPORE: Oil prices inched marginally higher in Asian trade Tuesday with investor sentiment clouded by worries about the US and eurozone economies, analysts said.
New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, gained eight cents to 79.06 dollars a barrel and Brent North Sea crude, also for September delivery, was 10 cents higher at 77.60 dollars.
“There are a lot of mixed signals,” said David Johnson, a Hong Kong-based oil analyst with the Royal Bank of Scotland.
“There is not enough confidence in the US and Europe (economic) recovery… a lot of people are getting slightly concerned about what”s happening,” he said.
Skepticism over European banking-sector stress tests, which cleared all but seven European lenders, got a subdued welcome on stock markets on Monday while investors remained concerned about the pace of US recovery from the global slump.
However, latest data on Monday from the Commerce Department showed new home sales increased 23.6 percent to 330,000 units in June from a revised May rate of 267,000, a record low.
The housing sector was at the epicentre of the financial crisis that plunged the US economy into recession in December 2007.
Meanwhile, investors are waiting for the release of a weekly government report on US energy stockpiles regarded as a gauge of demand in the world”s
biggest economy.
Last week”s inventory data showed an unexpectedly big rise in crude stocks and investors expect the report to show a drop in energy reserves when the Department of Energy releases its report Wednesday.
Oil inched up amid doubts about US, eurozone economies
SINGAPORE: Oil prices inched marginally higher in Asian trade Tuesday with investor sentiment clouded by worries about the US and eurozone economies, analysts said.
New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, gained eight cents to 79.06 dollars a barrel and Brent North Sea crude, also for September delivery, was 10 cents higher at 77.60 dollars.
“There are a lot of mixed signals,” said David Johnson, a Hong Kong-based oil analyst with the Royal Bank of Scotland.
“There is not enough confidence in the US and Europe (economic) recovery… a lot of people are getting slightly concerned about what”s happening,” he said.
Skepticism over European banking-sector stress tests, which cleared all but seven European lenders, got a subdued welcome on stock markets on Monday while investors remained concerned about the pace of US recovery from the global slump.
However, latest data on Monday from the Commerce Department showed new home sales increased 23.6 percent to 330,000 units in June from a revised May rate of 267,000, a record low.
The housing sector was at the epicentre of the financial crisis that plunged the US economy into recession in December 2007.
Meanwhile, investors are waiting for the release of a weekly government report on US energy stockpiles regarded as a gauge of demand in the world”s
biggest economy.
Last week”s inventory data showed an unexpectedly big rise in crude stocks and investors expect the report to show a drop in energy reserves when the Department of Energy releases its report Wednesday.
Oil hovers around 79 dollars in Asian trade
SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose slightly, extending gains in Asian trade Monday, as investors awaited the European market”s reaction to last week”s bank stress test results and as a US storm threat eased, analysts said.
New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, edged up 13 cents to 79.11 dollars a barrel while Brent North Sea crude for September delivery gained 22 cents to 77.67 dollars.
“The oil market is likely to extend its gains, although they could be quite muted, while waiting for the European market to open. Support will come from the strong US equities markets on Friday,” Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil analyst with Australia”s ANZ bank, told media.
The market”s gains on Friday were helped by rising US equities as encouraging company earnings propelled Wall Street stocks to their best levels in a month but were pared after the stress test results were released.
Many analysts questioned the rigour of the assessments after the results found seven banks, mainly in Spain, failed the tests out of 91 banks assessed for resistance to economic upheaval.
Oil hovers around 76 dollars in Asian trade
SINGAPORE: Oil hovered around 76 dollars in volatile Asian trade Friday on weak economic data which dampened hopes for a swift US rebound from recession.
New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, was down nine cents to 76.53 dollars a barrel in morning trade. Brent North Sea crude for September delivery added seven cents to 76.02 dollars.
“Some economic data in the United States are signalling slower economic growth and that has put a lid on any price rally,” said Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.
Doubts about the strength of the US recovery were fuelled by reports Thursday that manufacturing activity in the state of New York and in the Philadelphia region was weaker than expected this month.
The strength of the economic rebound in the United States is being closely watched by investors because it consumes more energy than any other country in the world.
Shum told media concerns over the US economy were weighing down on Asian stocks Friday and the sentiment was likely to spill over into the oil market.
“I see some downward pressure from the Asian equities markets… I don”t think we”re going to see a whole lot of gains in oil,” he added.
Oil prices are likely to trade between 70 and 80 dollars a barrel for some time, Shum said.
“There is really no big driver to cause oil to break out of this range,” he said.
Oil prices edge down in Asian trade
SINGAPORE: Crude prices edged down in Asian trade Tuesday as traders fretted over performances by the US retail and corporate sectors, analysts said.
New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, fell 36 cents to 74.59 dollars a barrel in the afternoon. Brent North Sea crude for August shed 38 cents to 73.99 dollars.
Oil prices rise in Asian trade
SINGAPORE: Oil prices edged up in tepid Asian trade Wednesday after recent falls caused by concerns about the US economic recovery, analysts said.
New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, rose 10 cents to 72.08 dollars a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for August delivery gained 13 cents to 71.58 dollars.
Crude markets climbed in the wake of seven straight sessions of losses as wary traders bought up crude in a listless market, analysts said.
