Futures Markets
WTI October contracts close at $120.92 per barrel
The price of October contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were up $16.37 at the close of trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday to $120.92 per barrel on Monday and was up by more than $25 at one point during the session on a weaker dollar, but with the expiration of October contracts [...]
Crude oil higher as plans lead to demand hopes
Crude oil prices were up sharply again Friday after the US government announced that it was in the process of formulating plans to remove bad debt from the books of lenders in an effort to restore confidence in the markets that will perhaps lead to gains in demand for oil and oil products.
Some warned, however [...]
WTI, Brent crude see slightly higher prices
Crude oil prices were up again Thursday, but not by nearly as much as Wednesday’s gains in a day of volatile trading that saw prices rise early then fall below Wednesday’s close before gaining again just before the close of floor trade.
West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery added 65 cents to $97.81 per barrel [...]
WTI, Brent in steep gains
Crude oil prices were up sharply Wednesday as investors looked to commodities as a safe place to put their money amid continuing meltdowns in the financial sector and as the US Energy Information Administration’s weekly US inventories report showed crude oil, gasoline and distillates stockpiles all lower last week.
October contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude [...]
WTI drops to near $91 per barrel
Crude oil prices fell steeply again Tuesday on the likelihood that demand will continue to decline as the US economy worsens and the global economy weakens along with it.
Among the issues worrying investors, aside from demand decline itself, are the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH), the deepening troubles of US insurer American International Group [...]
WTI drops more than $5, closes below $96 per barrel
Crude oil prices were more than five dollars per barrel lower Monday after Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) had to declare bankruptcy in the absence of a viable buyer or a government bailout.
Prices were also down as it appeared that damage to the oil infrastructure in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico had not suffered widespread [...]
WTI drops below $100 per barrel before slight gains
October contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude dropped to $99.99 per barrel briefly on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, the first time it has been below $100 per barrel since 2 April, before returning to slight gains on the session in afternoon trade.
New York prices avoided huge gains and Brent crude for October delivery [...]
Wholesale gasoline prices up along US Gulf Coast
Crude oil prices fell again Thursday, but wholesale prices for gasoline along the US Gulf Coast soared as Hurricane Ike approached Texas, rising to between $4 and $5 per gallon, up from around $3 to $3.50 per gallon on Wednesday.
Retail prices for gasoline, however, remained at $3.671 per gallon on average nationally Thursday, while Nymex [...]
Crude drops despite inventories, storm, OPEC
Crude oil prices slipped Wednesday after early gains, with West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery trading 36 cents lower to $102.90 per barrel around the close of trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude remained below $100 per barrel for a second session in a row.
Prices fell even though US inventories [...]
WTI trades below $104 per barrel
Crude oil prices were lower Tuesday as Hurricane Ike weakened and shifted course, making it less likely that it will hit key Gulf of Mexico oil and gas facilities.
Still, some companies were evacuating some workers from offshore platforms and securing Gulf Coast refineries as forecasters warned that Ike could still strengthen and turn north again [...]
Gains in crude prices ahead of Ike, OPEC meeting
Crude oil prices were slightly higher in New York Monday but fell in London as the dollar strengthened, as investors waited to see what Hurricane Ike would do, and on comments from some member nations of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries that indicated they favor cutting OPEC production quotas.
Iran & Libya argued Monday, ahead [...]
WTI, Brent crude down on US jobs data
Crude oil prices fell again Friday on data showing that unemployment in the United States rose to 6.1 percent in August, a higher level than had been anticipated, raising fears that demand will erode further.
The declines came ahead of scheduled meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, scheduled for next week, where the oil [...]
Crude prices drop despite declines in US inventories
Crude oil prices were lower Thursday despite new inventories numbers from the US Energy Information Administration which showed that stockpiles of oil, gasoline, and distillates were all lower last week.
Inventories of crude oil were down 1.9 million barrels in the week ending 29 August, while gasoline stockpiles dropped by 1 million barrels to 194.4 million [...]
Crude prices fall more on demand concerns
Crude oil prices fell again Wednesday as demand was forecast to continue declines and as oil companies geared up to restart offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and refineries along the Gulf Coast that were shut down ahead of Hurricane Gustav, which caused much less damage to facilities than had been [...]
Crude oil closes below $110 per barrel in New York
Crude oil prices fell substantially Tuesday after Hurricane Gustav passed through the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall on the US Gulf Coast without doing much damage to oil facilities in the region over the Labor Day holiday weekend in the United States.
Almost all activity on offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of [...]
Crude prices drop after early gains
After gains early in the session, crude oil prices ended lower Thursday after the International Energy Agency said it would dip into its emergency reserves to keep supplies flowing if Tropical Storm Gustav regains hurricane strength and damages key oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
As many as 4,000 oil and gas facilities are located [...]
Storm fears send oil prices higher
Crude oil prices were higher again Wednesday on fears that Tropical Storm Gustav, which weakened as it hit Haiti, will return to hurricane strength and threaten oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Some forecasts have Gustav heading for landfall in Louisiana after passing through the greatest concentration of offshore oil and gas platforms in the [...]
New hurricane sends crude prices higher
Crude oil prices were higher Tuesday on the possibility that Hurricane Gustav could hit oil-producing regions in the Gulf of Mexico.
Some forecasters believe that Gustav, now a Category 1 hurricane, could strengthen to a Category 4 or Category 5 storm if it enters the Gulf of Mexico after it hits Haiti and Cuba.
October contracts for [...]
Oil prices slightly higher in light trade
Crude oil prices were slightly higher Monday in light trade as some investors took the week off ahead of the US Labor Day holiday next weekend.
The price gains came after Russia’s parliament voted to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the two breakaway regions of Georgia whose military support by Russia have caused [...]
WTI, Brent drop more than $6 per barrel
Crude oil prices fell Friday more than they gained on Thursday as investors took profits and as the US dollar strengthened.
Other news that helped send prices lower included the reopening of a recently-sabotaged oil pipeline in Turkey following repairs, an estimate that output from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries member nations is up this month, [...]