Volatility in Syria = Volatility in the Markets. Risk off is ON!

The U.S. stock indexes closed solidly lower today on profit taking and amid a “risk-off” day in the world market place The U.S. appears poised to take military action against Syria, possibly within 48 hours, after the Syrian government regime used chemical weapons against its citizens. World stock markets sold off Tuesday on the jitters regarding Syria. There are worries any U.S. military intervention in Syria could escalate into further instability and violence in the already volatile Middle East. Emerging country financial markets and currencies also saw strains Tuesday amid the risk aversion in the market place. The Indian rupee hit another record low versus the U.S. dollar Tuesday.

October Nymex crude oil closed up $3.04 at $108.97 today. Prices closed nearer the session high today and hit a fresh contract high. Syria tensions have pushed oil sharply higher following U.S. Secretary of State Kerry's harsh condemnation of Syria Monday afternoon. Crude oil bulls have the strong overall near term technical advantage. Prices have now seen a bullish upside “breakout” from the choppy and sideways trading range at higher price levels.

December gold futures closed up $26.50 an ounce at $1,419.70 today. Prices closed nearer the session high and hit a nearly three month high today. Safe haven buying was featured, along with fresh technical buying interest. The key “outside markets” were also bullish for the gold market today, as the U.S. dollar index was lower and crude oil prices were sharply higher. The gold market bulls have the near term technical advantage. A two month old uptrend is in place on the daily bar chart.

October natural gas closed up 2.4 cents at $3.577 today. Prices closed near the session high. The nat gas bears still have the overall near term technical advantage. However, the bulls have gained a bit of upside momentum.

The September U.S. dollar index closed down .271 at 81.170 today. Prices closed near the session low. The greenback bears have the overall near term technical advantage. Prices are in a seven week old downtrend on the daily bar chart.

And you just have to know that we can't resist talking about coffee. December coffee closed down 110 points at 116.65 cents today. Prices closed near the session low today as prices hover near the recent contract low. The key “outside markets” were fully bullish for the coffee market today as the U.S. dollar index was lower and crude oil prices were sharply higher. Yet, the coffee market bulls could get no traction, which is another bearish clue for coffee. The coffee bears have the solid overall near term technical advantage.

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ONG: Crude Oil Weekly Technical Outlook For Sunday August 12th

As always we like to check in with the great staff at Oil N'Gold for their call on where crude oil is headed this week.....

Crude oil resumed the rally from 77.28 by taking out 92.94 and reached as high as 94.72 before making a temporary top there. Initial bias is neutral this week for some consolidations. But we'll stay bullish as long as 86.92 support holds. As noted before, decline from 110.55 should have finished at 77.28 already. Current rebound from there should extend and above 94.72 will target 61.8% retracement of 110.55 to 77.28 at 97.84 and above.

In the bigger picture, price actions from 114.84 are viewed as a three wave consolidation pattern with fall from 110.55 as the third leg. Such decline could have finished earlier than we expected at 77.28. Sustained trading above 90 psychological level will bring stronger rally towards 114.83 resistance level. And break there will resumption whole up trend from 33.2. On the downside, another fall cannot be ruled out yet. But even in that case, strong support should be seen below 74.95 and above 61.8% retracement of 33.20 to 114.83 at 64.38 and bring another medium term rise.

In the long term picture, crude oil is in a long term consolidation pattern from 147.27, with first wave completed at 33.2. The corrective structure of the rise from 33.2 indicates that it's second wave of the consolidation pattern. While it could make another high above 114.83, we'd anticipate strong resistance ahead of 147.24 to bring reversal for the third leg of the consolidation pattern.

Nymex Crude Oil Continuous Contract 4 Hour, Daily, Weekly and Monthly Charts

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Heat Wave Can't Get You $8 Natural Gas in 2012

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From the staff at EconMatters.......

The Energy Department reported that natural gas in storage grew by 26 billion cubic feet to 3.189 trillion cubic feet for the week ended July 20. The inventory level was 15.8% above the five year average of 2.754 trillion cubic feet, and 18% above last year's level.

Low natural gas prices in the U.S. this year has not only tanked the stocks of many gas weighted producers, but also dragged down profits of U.S based oilfield services companies as a result of reduced gas drilling activity (See Chart Below). However, since hitting a 10 year low of below $2/mmbtu in April, Henry Hub benchmark prices has surged 69% hitting $3.214/mmbtu on Monday, July 30, the high of the year.



The latest bullish sentiment is fueled mostly by forecasts for more unusual heat this summer to increase air conditioning use. In addition, there's also an increase in usage/demand as lower natural gas prices have also attracted many utilities to switch from coal to natural gas for power generation. According to the EIA, electricity generated using natural gas was roughly even with coal for the first time ever in April. Historically, natural gas typically supplied just over 20% of the domestic electricity needs.


These positive indicators have prompted at least one article at Forbes to predict $8.00/mcf natural gas by "the approaching winter", that means another 160% rise in about four months.

Well, EIA did raise its estimate for domestic natural gas consumption this year, expecting demand to climb 3.3 bcfd, or 4.9%, from 2011 to 69.91 bcf daily driven mainly by a 21% jump in utilities coal-to-gas switching for power generation in 2012, offsetting declines in residential and commercial use, primarily due to a weak U.S. economy.



Nevertheless, the problem is natural gas starts to lose its cost advantage to coal at around $2.40 to $2.50 per mmbtu. So the current $3.20/mmbtu levels, if sustained, could take away one significant bullish swing factor in the natural gas fundamentals--demand from the power gen sector. If that happens, it is very likely there could be another record storage level before "the approaching winter," let alone $8/mmbtu.



The natural-gas market this year is now outpacing even the returns in oil and copper (i.e. Every dog has its day). However, our observation is that the NYMEX natural gas market a lot of times could be in a somewhat irrational "trend trading" mode driven mostly by traders totally disregarding the fundamentals. The current run-up seems to be in one of those "trend-trading" momentum, and likely will not last long after reality sets in. For now, we see Henry Hub continue to hover within the $2-$3/mmbtu range in the next twelve months barring a super sized hurricane knocking out production in the U.S. Gulf.

Check out more articles at EconMatters.Com

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EconMatters: Crude Oil....A Perfect Bear Storm Despite the Euro Pop

Crude oil prices, along with world stocks, surged on Friday after euro zone leaders reached an accord on directly recapitalizing regional banks as well as measures to cut soaring borrowing costs in Italy and Spain. Brent crude jumped more than 7% in one day to close at $97.80 a barrel, while WTI also settled up 9.36% to $84.96 a barrel on NYMEX. However, for the quarter, spot Brent and U.S. oil futures still fell 20.4% and 17.5% respectively, their steepest quarterly percentage drops since the fourth quarter of 2008 post financial crisis. Looking ahead, we believe this little 'Euro pop' will soon fizz out weighted down by the reality of basic market fundamental factor.

First of all, the Euro accord bandaid does not fundamentally change what's causing the current crisis to begin with, high sovereign debt, out of control government spending, and insolvent regional banks. Add to this scenario is a slowing of European demand, parts of Europe are in a recession, and this not only affects less oil being consumed in Europe, but backs all the way up the supply chain from Ford automobiles being sold and needing to be manufactured, to Chinese factories needing to ratchet manufacturing cycles down to account for less demand out of Europe.


Macroeconomics aside, the oil inventory picture in the U.S. is also quite interesting these days, to say the least. For example, On 1/27/2012 there was 338,942 Million Barrels in US storage facilities, then on 2/24/2012 it started slowly rising to 344,868 Million, then Inventory builds started accelerating as on 3/23/2012 there were 353,390 Million on hand, then we jumped dramatically to 375,864 Million Barrels on 4/27/2012, with another sizable increase to 384,740 on 5/25/2012, and on 6/22/2012 the number stands at 387,166 Million Barrels in US Storage facilities, way above the five-year range. (See Chart Below)

Chart Source: EIA, June 27, 2012

This is taking place despite the domestic refinery run rate has increased from 85% in January to 92% in the week ending June 22 (See Chart Below). As of June 1, 2012, crude oil inventories held at Cushing, OK were 47.8 million barrels, the highest level on record, according to the U.S. Energy Dept. These are historically high numbers, but the magnitude of the rise over what is generally the stronger part of the US business cycle each year is the more compelling story.

Chart Data Source: EIA, as of June 22, 2012

With record refinery runs, we still cannot make a dent in the oil Inventories, which implies that there is a lot of oil in the market. In fact, if this trend continues, even just for the next three months, we are going to shatter previous storage records here in the US. At current rate, the inventory number could smash through the 400 Million Barrel level over the next quarter.


This does not bode well for the oil market when the slow part of the year comes around in August and September, where Gasoline demand drops off rather sharply, and is usually the slowest part of the year in terms of fuel usage, demand, and prices typically drop significantly each year. Technically, WTI could easily blow below $70/b with no major support till $60/b comes this August/September, and prices would remain challenged in the short to medium term.


What are the reasons for this glut of oil in the US? There are several, China has slowed manufacturing and exports, i.e., their economy has pulled back considerably. India is having all sorts of credit worthiness concerns, and is also growing at a slower rate. So in short, the emerging market economies are using less oil.


The demand picture in the U.S. is also quite dismal. EIA data show in the first quarter, total U.S. liquid fuels consumption fell 3.7% YoY due to high prices and record warm weather. For the second half of 2012, and 2013, EIA expects a YoY increase of only 1.2% and 0.6% respectively in liquid fuels consumption.


Furthermore, there are more domestic oil production mostly from unconventional shale plays, as there are more Capex drilling projects started during the beginning half of the year on high oil price. This has also pulled a lot more independents into drilling, and we are producing more oil each day than we actually consume or need. This has been one major contributing factor in these continuous inventory builds during the strong part of the usage cycle, as refineries are operating at record utilization levels since the recovery with the seasonal spring/summer driving season going from March with Spring Break through basically labor day, (some say July 4th is the peak of the Summer driving season).

Internationally, the Libyan oil is back on line, and other oil producing countries pumping more oil out of the ground compared to the last 5 years during this era of elevated oil prices. The Saudis are producing at the high end of their range as well. In a recent report, U.S. EIA noted that global company held oil inventories in the major industrialized nations will be sufficient to cover 57.7 days of demand at the end of 2012, the highest level in 15 years.

Basic economics plays a role in this story as well. Just ask this one question--Where are the high margin business opportunities over the last 5 years? It sure isn`t in the Banking Industry with deal-making and large scale private equity deals falling off a cliff. It hasn`t been in the real estate market either.

Market dynamics 101 stipulates that high oil prices leads to higher margins, which leads to more investment resources being directed to this sector which ultimately rebalances the market, and oil prices come back down. This is why there is often a boom and bust cycle that plays out in many investment sectors, and historically the energy and oil sectors have been the poster kids to this rule.

So essentially, five years of really high prices--higher than the actual fundamentals of the economy should dictate--have caused an artificial market scenario where longer-term demand was being stifled by currency concerns, inflation concerns, while commodity investment in general has served as a case of over investment in this area in relation to true, actual Global demand.

Throw in the fact that it seems everybody (governments as well as consumers) is in debt, nobody has any money, credit issues are becoming increasingly burdensome to deficit financing to artificially stimulate growth via the government intervention route, all these factors are forming a perfect storm for the oil market to face some major headwinds for the next 5 years.


Posted courtesy of our friends at EconMatters.Com

U.S. Crude Stocks Seen Down on Higher Runs, Lower Imports

U.S. crude oil stockpiles likely fell last week for the third straight week due to increased refinery utilization and lower imports, an expanded Reuters poll of analysts showed on Tuesday.

For Wednesday morning trading crude oil prices are near steady in early trading today. Trading has turned choppy but bears still have the overall near term technical advantage. In August Nymex crude, look for buy stops to reside just above resistance at $85.00 and then at this week's high of $85.89. Look for sell stops just below technical support at $83.00 and then at $82.50.

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Natural Gas Weekly Update

• Natural gas prices remained above $2.00 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) over the report week (Wednesday to Wednesday) at most trading locations across the country. The Henry Hub price closed within a 9 cent range, settling at $2.36 per MMBtu yesterday (up 5 cents for the week).
• The natural gas futures market generally trended higher over the week. At the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the June 2012 natural gas contract gained 21.2 cents per MMBtu to close at $2.465 per MMBtu yesterday.

• Working natural gas in storage rose slightly last week to 2,606 billion cubic feet (Bcf) as of Friday, May 4, according to EIA’s Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR). An implied storage build of 30 Bcf for the week positioned storage volumes 799 Bcf above year-ago levels.
• The natural gas rotary rig count, as reported by Baker Hughes Incorporated on May 4, declined by 7 to 606 active units, 32 percent lower than the same week last year. Meanwhile, oil-directed rigs increased by 27 to 1,355 units, 45 percent above the same week last year.

Get more natural gas details at the EIA website

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Another Oil Price Shock, Another Global Recession?

Brent crude ended trading above $120 a barrel on Friday, April 13, while WTI crude on NYMEX for May delivery settled at $102.83 a barrel.  Oil has traded above $100 for all but a couple of days in the past year (see chart below).  This persistent high oil price has many concerned to start threatening a nascent recovery of the global economy.

Studies show that historically, around 90% of US recessions post World War II were preceded by oil price shocks.  The most recent occurrence took place when oil more than doubled in price from January 2007 to July 2008 due to a sharp increase in Chinese demand.  The pullback of US consumer and corporate spending already put a drag on economic growth before the subprime induced financial crisis closed the deal on the Great Recession.

Analysts generally see the $120-130 level as a price that would prompt consumer and corporate to cut back on spending sharply, and hurt the recovery and growth of key economic sectors. A recent Reuters survey of 20 equity strategists put $125 a barrel as the point economy and stock markets could start to suffer.

The most recent study on the link between oil price and economic recession came from energy industry consultancy Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac) published earlier this month.  The chart below from WoodMac illustrates "the mechanism" of how an oil price shock would derail the global economy. 

According to WoodMac's model,

".... the US will fall into recession within 12 months if WTI increases to $130 per barrel and the price remains elevated. If WTI reaches $150 per barrel and remains elevated, recession will be more pronounced with US GDP estimated to contract 0.4% in 2013."

U.S. domestic petroleum products are priced off of Brent since WTI has become a less relevant oil price marker due to the inventory glut at pipeline capacity challenged Cushing, OK depressing the WTI price.  So using the current spread between WTI and Brent of around $15-$20, WTI $130 would suggest Brent at about $150 range.  Brent futures already hit $128.40 a barrel, the highest since 2008, in early March, but has since given back some of the gains.. 

However, the difference between now and 2008 is that when oil spiked to almost $150 in 2008, there was a strong demand from China and a real shortage of supply, whereas the current world oil market is a lot more balanced than the current Brent oil price suggests.

IEA (International Energy Agency) said in its monthly report that there had potentially been a rise in global oil stocks of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) over the last quarter, and the impact on prices had not yet been fully realised.  Reuters quoted the IEA that:

"Easing first quarter 2012 fundamentals have seen prices recently lose most of the $5 per barrel they gained in March. The muted impact so far is partly because much of this extra supply has been stockpiled on land or at sea."

Rather than reflecting market fundamentals, dollar prices for Brent crude, up more than 15% this year, has been pushed up mainly by fears about Iran, and the loss of supply from three relatively small oil producing countries--Syria, Yemen and South Sudan--adding to the supply worries.  In other words, the oil price is bid up primarily by trading actions on the geopolitical factors (chiefly Iran). 

Meanwhile, Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al Naimi said on Friday, April 13 in a statement during a visit to Seoul that

“We are seeing a prolonged period of high oil prices. We are not happy about it. (The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) is determined to see a lower price and is working towards that goal.” 

“Fundamentally the market remains balanced — there is no lack of supply.  Saudi Arabia has invested a great deal to sustain its capacity, and it will use spare production capacity to supply the oil market with any additional required volumes.”

Naimi earlier this year indicated $100 a barrel as an ideal price for producers and consumers earlier this year.

Chart Source: Reuters.com

Typically, oil price shock occurs when price goes out of the normal range.  Currently, oil is not trading at an unprecedented level as in the case of 2008, which is hard to hit given the projection of a subdued global GDP, weak oil demand outlook, and an eventual resolution of the Iran situation.

Thus we believe oil has gotten way ahead of itself, and could experience a correction later this year and in the next three years or so.  End user behavior change is starting to manifest, and the latest CFTC trading position reports already showed that money managers cut their net-long position roughly 12% in light, sweet crude-oil futures and options (see chart above).  (Brent already went down to $118.57 on Monday, April 16.)

So no, unless something totally unexpected shocks the oil price into no man's land, WTI and Brent are unlikely to hit the levels that could possibly bring about a global recession any time soon.  In fact, among the major possible drivers of a global recession, European economic and debt crisis looks to be the greater risk than an oil price shock. 


Posted courtesy of AsiaBlue at Econmatters

Crude Oil and Product Markets Over the Past Two Months

On February 29, 2012, EIA released The Availability and Price of Petroleum and Petroleum Products Produced in Countries Other Than Iran, a 60 day recurring report required under Section 1245(d)(4)(A) of Public Law 112-81, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. The Act requires that, not later than 60 days from enactment and every 60 days thereafter, the "Energy Information Administration, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of State, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to Congress a report on the availability and price of petroleum and petroleum products produced in countries other than Iran in the 60 day period preceding the submission of the report."
EIA estimates that the world oil market has become increasingly tight over the first two months of this year.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME).  Note: Prices represent rolling 5-day averages. 

Oil prices have risen since the beginning of the year and are currently at a high level. Global liquid fuels consumption is at historically high levels. While the economic outlook, especially in Europe, remains uncertain, continued growth is expected. Unusually cold weather in Europe contributed to tighter markets by increasing the demand for heating oil, particularly during February.

With respect to supply, the world has experienced a number of supply interruptions in the last two months, including production drops in South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and the North Sea. Both the United States and the European Union (EU) have acted to tighten sanctions against Iran, including measures with both immediate and future effective dates.

Finally, spare crude oil production capacity, while estimated to be higher than during the 2003 to 2008 period, is quite modest by historical standards, especially when measured as a percentage of global oil production and considered in the context of current geopolitical uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the situation in Iran.

Crude oil prices have been generally rising over the past two months, particularly in recent weeks. This is reflected in price movements on the most commonly traded oil futures contracts. Comparing the 5 day periods ending December 30, 2011 and February 27, 2012, the price of the front month of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) light sweet crude oil contract (WTI) rose from $99.77 per barrel to $107.66 per barrel. The Brent front month price, which is widely viewed as being more representative of global prices for light sweet crude oil, rose from $108.04 per barrel to $123.56 per barrel over the same period.

Gasoline prices have also generally been rising over the past two months, particularly in recent weeks. Reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending (RBOB) is often traded instead of finished motor gasoline that already has been blended with ethanol, since oxygenate blending typically takes place at terminals along the distribution chain.

Comparing the 5-day periods ending December 30, 2011 and February 27, 2012, the price of the front month of the NYMEX RBOB contract, which calls for delivery in New York Harbor, rose from $2.68 per gallon to $3.11 per gallon. RBOB prices reflect pricing at the wholesale-level that do not include motor fuel taxes, or costs and profits associated with the distribution and retailing of gasoline. However, increases in RBOB prices are typically reflected in higher pump prices.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). 

Notes: Prices represent rolling 5 day averages. Reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending (RBOB) is often traded instead of finished motor gasoline that already has been blended with ethanol, since oxygenate blending typically takes place at terminals along the distribution chain.

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Crude Jumps On False Iran Rumor, But Holds Onto Gains

Crude oil futures leapt more than three percent in just minutes Tuesday on a market rumor that Iran closed a major oil shipping channel, but then pared gains as the rumor proved untrue.

According to the rumor, the Iranian government closed the Strait of Hormuz. The strait, located between Iran and Oman, is the most important oil shipping channel in the world, handling about 33% of all ocean borne traded oil, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The rumor was picked up on financial blogs and a handful of news web sites, and sent Nymex crude futures rocketing as high as 3.6% over Monday's settlement, to $101.25 a barrel.

An Iranian official later dismissed the rumor, and a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's 5th fleet in Bahrain said shipping traffic in the strait was flowing normally. The rumor appeared to be founded on a news item from Monday afternoon, in which a member of the Iranian parliament said its military was preparing to practice closing the straight......Read the entire Rigzone article.


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ONG: Crude Oil Weekly Technical Outlook

Crude oil dipped to as low as 97.36 last week but recovered since then. Nonetheless, crude oil remains bounded in range of 94.99/103.37 and near term outlook remains neutral. More choppy sideway consolidation could still be seen. Below 97.36 minor support will flip bias to the downside for 94.99 and possibly below. But in such case, downside is expected to be contained by 89.16/17 cluster support (50% retracement of 74.95 to 103.37) and bring rebound. On the upside, break of 103.37 will confirm resumption of recent rally and should target 114.83 resistance next.

In the bigger picture, fall from 114.83 has finished at 74.95 already. The structure suggests it's merely a correction or part of a consolidation pattern. Hence, rise from 33.2 is not finished yet. As long as 89.16/17 support holds, we'd favor a break of 114.83 resistance to resume the rally from 33.2. However, break of 89.16/17 will indicate that rebound from 74.95 has completed and whole fall from 114.83 is possibly resuming for another below 74.95.

In the long term picture, crude oil is in a long term consolidation pattern from 147.27, with first wave completed at 33.2. The corrective structure of the rise from 33.2 indicates that it's second wave of the consolidation pattern. While it could make another high above 114.83, we'd anticipate strong resistance ahead of 147.24 to bring reversal for the third leg of the consolidation pattern.

Nymex Crude Oil Continuous Contract 4 Hour, Daily, Weekly, Monthly Charts


Gold’s 4th Wave Consolidation Nears Completion and Breakout

How Cheap is Natural Gas?

How cheap is natural gas? The EIA tells us winter (November-March) natural gas futures prices are near their lowest levels since 2001-2002.

The average natural gas futures price for the upcoming winter is less than $4 per million British thermal units, the lowest level entering the winter since 2001-2002. The so called "winter strip," the average natural gas futures price for the contract months November through March as settled on the New York Mercantile Exchange is a closely followed measure of market participants' price expectations.

In markets such as New England and California, where natural gas prices often set on peak, wholesale power prices, the NYMEX winter strip for natural gas also can influence expectations for forward wholesale power prices.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Bloomberg, L.P.
Note: October 20 was selected because it represents a date near the start of the natural gas winter heating season yet still has information for five months of the upcoming winter's natural gas NYMEX future's strip.


These prices do not reflect expectations for the cost of transporting natural gas from Henry Hub to downstream market locations. The Henry Hub, in Erath, Louisiana, is the physical delivery location for the NYMEX natural gas futures contract. Sabine Pipeline is the operator of the Henry Hub. 

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Phil Flynn: The Dead Spread

Trying to explain the impact of the death of Moammar Ghadfi on oil might best be described as what I guess can now be called the "Dead Spread". Oh sure, you used to be able to call it the Brent crude oil West Texas intermediate spread but the way the spread has come in since the death of the murderous dictator, I guess "The Dead Spread" might be entirely appropriate.

The Brent/WTI spread almost became a household word in the conflict between Gaddafi loyalists and the Libyan rebels. Libyan crude is of a very high quality oil that found its nitch in Europe subbing for the production challenged North Sea brent crude. The loss of that crude created a void because European refiners accustomed to a regular flow of light crude failed to have the type of units needed to refine those heavier grades. The loss of that crude caused the Brent/WTI spread to go to a record high. Now coincidentally or not, the spread has come in dramatically since Mr. Gaddafi's demise.

In fact the spread has come in from an all time high of approximately $28.07 to a mere $18.97 as of this writing. With Gaddafi out of the way the hope is that Libyan oil will once again fill that void. Well early on that is even going beyond hope. Yesterday ENI told Dow Jones that the big elephant in the room, or Libya's giant Elephant oil and gas field in Libya, could restart as early as next month and that there was "no big damage". That field accounts for almost 25% of Libya's natural gas output. A resumption of that much oil that soon obviously could ease concerns that it will take "years" to get Libyan oil production back up to normal.

That not to say that there are not some tensions as Dow Jones reports of a strike at Waha Oil Co., Libya's largest oil partnership with foreign companies, is entering its eighth week after a failure to reach an agreement over the dismissal of Gaddafi era managers, staff at the company said. Dow Jones says, "Unrest at Waha, on which U.S. partners Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO), Hess Corp (HES) and ConocoPhillips (COP) have previously declined to comment, is part of broader strife at some oil operations. It underscores the challenges still facing the country's oil industry despite the death of former ruler Moammar Gadhafi last week."

Yet at the same time the WTI has found strength as the US economy looks stronger than Europe and the decline of crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the Nymex WTI futures. While the world waits for Europe, data seems to suggest that the sparing over Greek haircuts (no, I am not talking about Telly Savalas) and bank rescue funds has zapped the confidence of Europe, increasing the odds of a recession.

It seems that market are also reacting to the spread sending light sweet crude to Europe as opposed to the formally oversupplied US. Gas and Oil Daily says, "Oil stockpiles in Cushing dropped 760,000 barrels to 28.1 million. The Energy Department said last week that Cushing inventories, including floating and fixed tanks, totaled 31.1 million barrels as of October 14th, down 26% from a peak of 41.9 million on April 8th." Bloomberg News says that crude oil inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, dropped 2.6 percent on Oct. 21 from Oct. 18, according to data compiled by DigitalGlobe Inc.

They say that stockpiles held in floating roof tanks at the hub fell 760,000 barrels to 28.1 million, satellite images taken by the Longmont, Colorado based company show. In other words, the market forces are starting to correct the anomaly between the spread as oil is seeking higher prices. That is reducing Cushing supply and more than likely increasing European supply.

What is also helping is that we are seeing an increase in Nigerian exports as well. Nigeria also has the very desirable light sweet grade of crude oil. Dow Jones says that Nigeria will export 7,950,000-barrel cargos of Bonny Light in December, one more cargo than in November. They report a total of 214,516 barrels a day of QuaIboe crude will be available in December, compared with 157,000 barrels a day in November, the program shows.

This should put more pressure on "The Dead Spread" as well. It also put the WTI market in backwardation for the first time since the financial crisis began. It seems that the market is worried that with all the oil ending up in Europe, supplies may tighten in the US. It is also showing a vote of confidence in the US economic growth outlook or at least a more pessimistic outlook for Europe.

Also with oil on fire yesterday William Dudley of the Fed, fed into the flames talking about QE3D! QE is bullish for oil and with the Dead spread out of whack we could see WTI try to attract supply. While WTI flies gas prices were mute as the Brent crude should help US imports of products. Mr. Dudley is sending a signal to the market that QE is back in play and most likely will be in the form of printing money to buy back mortgage backed securities. Very bullish for WTI oil!

The Energy Information Agency has some good news I suppose. They said that the national average retail price of regular gasoline is down 1.4c to $3.462 a gallon. Yahoo! Now not that I want to ruin that god feeling you had but they also want to remind you that prices are still 64.5c a gallon, or 22.9%, higher than they were a year ago.

Want some news that might warm your heart? Reuters News points out that the average of the first 12 months of New York Mercantile Exchange natural gas futures contracts slid to its lowest in nine years on Monday as growing supplies and moderate weather weighed on the complex. The 12 month futures fell 2.3 cents to settle at $3.923 per million British Thermal Units, the lowest settle since Nov. 15, 2002, when the average closed at $3.926, Reuters data showed. Despite record heat this summer that drove NYMEX front month gas to its 2011 peak near $5, record high gas production, primarily from shale, has been the main factor pressuring price expectations.

Phil Flynn

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EIA: Natural Gas Weekly Update....Increases in Inventory Sending Prices Lower

The past week was characterized by passing of the earlier week’s heat wave. The Henry Hub price decreased 31 cents per million Btu (MMBtu) for the week (6.4 percent) to close at $4.52 per MMBtu on June 15. During the midst of the heat wave, working natural gas in storage last week rose to 2,256 billion cubic feet (Bcf) as of Friday, June 10, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR). The implied increase for the week was 69 Bcf, leaving storage volumes positioned 275 Bcf below year-ago levels. At the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the July 2011 natural gas contract price lost every day of the week, closing at $4.577 per MMBtu on Wednesday. The natural gas rotary rig count, as reported June 10 by Baker Hughes Incorporated, fell by 8 to 879 active units, continuing the trend of recent weeks. Meanwhile, oil-directed rigs were up 10 to 969, maintaining the disparity between the two drilling strategies.

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Dian Chu: A Tale of Crudes.....Anybody Got A Big Rig?

From guest blogger By Dian L. Chu at the EconForecast......

On Wednesday, Feb. 16 Israel said Iran is sending two warships into the Suez Canal on way to Syria, and that the action is considered a “provocation.” Due to the long history of bad blood between Israel and Iran, this very possible scenario was enough to even send the bear infested NYMEX crude oil futures volume surging midday.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Nymex rose to just below $85, while Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange spiked $2.17 higher to $103.81 a barrel, a 29 month high, widening the WTI Brent spread to a new record near $19.

High Middle East Tension

Then on Friday, Feb. 18, AFP reported that permission has been granted for Iranian warships to transit the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean. Canal officials say it would be the first time Iranian warships have made the passage since the 1979 Islamic revolution, while Israel has labeled the Iranian action as "hostile' and said Israel was closely monitoring the situation.
As the worst Israel-Iran conflict scenario failed to materialize, at the close Friday Feb. 18, Brent crude oil for April settled at $102.79 while WTI for April delivery rose to $89.71, narrowing the spread to $13.11.

Crude Glut at Cushing, OK

Since WTI is lighter and sweeter crude which requires less processing, it has historically enjoyed a $1 – $2 a barrel price premium to Brent crude oil. According to Bloomberg, the WTI Brent gap averaged only 76 cents last year.

However, WTI’s premium disappeared about a year ago and in recent days it has been trading at more than a $10/bbl discount to Brent mainly due to rising inventory levels at Cushing OK, the delivery and price settling point of Nymex crude futures.....Click Here to Read The Entire Article and View Dian's Charts.



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Commodity Corner: Crude Oil Soars as Dollar Tumbles

Crude oil climbed to a six month high Thursday as the dollar fell on news of the Fed's latest economic stimulus effort. Crude for December delivery added $1.80 Thursday, settling at $86.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The Federal Reserve's decision to buy an additional $600 billion in bonds contributed to the dollar plummeting to a nine month low against the euro. The dollar has been weakening since late August in anticipation of additional quantitative easing. As more money is printed the value of the dollar weakens, leading to cheaper commodities for foreign currency holders. The greenback fell to $1.42 against the euro Thursday, the lowest since Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) bumped its global oil consumption estimates by 800,000 barrels a day for 2014. OPEC's 5.1 percent, or 89.9 million barrels a day, increase signifies a continuing recovery. Crude futures traded from $84.92 to $86.83 Thursday. Natural gas prices settled up 2 cents Thursday at $3.86 per thousand cubic feet on the NYMEX. Although the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported 67 billion cubic feet in gas inventories for the week ended Oct. 29, analysts predict traders buying gas futures ahead of cooler temperatures. Gas consumption increases in periods of extreme temperatures.

The intraday range for natural gas was $3.74 to $3.90. Gasoline prices also finished higher Thursday, settling 4.15 cents higher at $2.18 a gallon. December gasoline peaked at $2.18 after bottoming out at $2.14.

Courtesy of Rigzone.Com

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EIA: Weekly Natural Gas Update For Week Ending Sept. 22nd

Since Wednesday, September 15, natural gas spot prices fell at most markets across the lower 48 States, with declines of less than 10 cents per million Btu (MMBtu). However, selected markets in the Rocky Mountains and at the Florida citygate posted considerably larger declines, falling by as much as $0.51 per MMBtu. The Henry Hub natural gas spot price fell $0.04 per MMBtu since last Wednesday, averaging $4.02 per MMBtu in trading yesterday, September 22.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the futures contract for October delivery at the Henry Hub settled yesterday at $3.966 per MMBtu, falling by $0.029, or about 1 percent, since the previous Wednesday.

Natural gas in storage totaled 3,340 billion cubic feet (Bcf) as of September 17, about 6.2 percent above the 5 year (2005-2009) average. The implied net injection for the week was 73 Bcf.

The spot price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil decreased by $2.92 per barrel since Wednesday, September 15, ending the report week at $72.98 per barrel, or $12.58 per MMBtu.

Click Here For More Summary Data


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Daryl Guppy: Crude Oil Turns Bearish, $54 May Be Downside Target

From guest blogger Daryl Guppy....

As recently as three weeks ago we remained bullish on oil. This view has now changed with a confirmation of a longer term chart pattern. Nymex oil is now showing a bearish pattern. There are still additional moves required to fully confirm the pattern but the development of bearish pressure is increasing. The behavior of oil in 2009 to 2010 has been dominated by two features. The first is the residual power of the historical support and resistance levels. The most important of these are between $78 and $88. The three recent tests near resistance at $88 created a bullish outlook with a potential to breakout and move to the next resistance level near $98.

The second feature was the development first of an up sloping trend channel. The lower edge of this channel was broken in May and a new lower parallel up trend channel developed. This lower channel has recently also been broken. It is the pattern of these breaks that point the way to a head and shoulder pattern. The rapid fall from $80.00 and the failure of the rebound is initial confirmation of the head and shoulder trend reversal pattern. If fully completed, it would put a downside target for oil near $54.

The pattern is confirmed in two ways. First when the price fails to rally above $81, which is the height of the right shoulder. This failure confirms the development of the right shoulder of the pattern. The second confirmation is a move below $65.00. This is the current projection value of the neckline in the head and shoulder pattern. Move below this level is final confirmation of the head and shoulder pattern.

Another confirmation, albiet minor, is a sustained close below historical support near $68. This has been a string support area since December 2009 and a major feature in the 2010 oil market behaviour. The development of the right shoulder has moved the NYMEX oil market out of the slightly bullish sideways consolidation band and into bearish territory. Traders use more caution in the long side of this market and are more aggressive in talking the short side.

Daryl Guppy is a trader and author of Trend Trading, The 36 Strategies of the Chinese for Financial Traders Guppy Traders.Com

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Crude Oil Hovers Above $74 as Traders Eye US Economy

Crude oil prices slipped to near $74 a barrel Monday in Asia as traders weighed whether growing Chinese demand can offset weak U.S. fuel consumption amid high unemployment. Benchmark oil for October delivery was down 25 cents at $74.35 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 42 cents to settle at $74.60 on Friday.

Most investors took heart after the Labor Department on Friday said private employers added 67,000 jobs in August, more than analysts expected. However, the jobless rate rose in August to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in July, showing that unemployment remains high despite massive stimulus spending during the last year. Oil prices have been in a holding pattern around $75 for most of the past year as developed countries rebound from last year's recession but economic growth threatens to slow in the second half.

Traders are looking to China and other emerging economies to fuel demand for commodities in coming years. If China continues to grow at its current rate of about 9 percent a year until about 2030, its oil demand would equal all of today's global crude production, HSBC chief economist Stephen King said. "So the likelihood is over the next five to ten years, we'll see significantly higher oil prices," King said. "The China story is becoming more and more important."

In other Nymex trading in October contracts, heating oil fell 0.43 cent to $2.05 a gallon and gasoline dropped 0.33 cent to $1.916 a gallon. Natural gas for October delivery skidded 3.9 cents to $3.90 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude was down 6 cents at $76.61 on the ICE Futures exchange.

From The Associated Press - Singapore

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Crude Oil Prices Climb as Monthly Jobs Report Looms

Oil prices rose on Wednesday as investors began to place bets ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report that figures to provide fresh clues about the strength of the rebounding economy and demand for oil. At the same time, gasoline pump prices across the country continued their slow slide toward levels not seen since a year ago. Benchmark crude for July delivery climbed 90 cents at $73.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.39 to settle at $72.58 on Tuesday.

Retail gasoline prices fell for the 27th straight day, dropping 0.4 cent overnight to a national average of $2.723 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Prices have dropped 4.8 cents in the past week and 17.2 cents in the past month. Prices remain 19.8 cents over year ago levels. Oil prices have been supported by recent economic data that have come in better than expected, including a report Wednesday that showed pending home sales at their highest level in April since October. Demand for crude products also has been increasing.

The latest read on how the U.S. economy is doing comes Friday when the unemployment report for May is released. "If this market is disappointed, it could be a new leg down for gas prices," said Phil Flynn of PFGBest. Rising stock markets helped oil prices on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up about 120 points at midday. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted gains as well. Oil and gasoline prices have fallen about 16 percent in the past month, even as the spill in the Gulf of Mexico worsens. Tankers bringing imported oil to Gulf ports and taking refined product out continue to work around the huge slick at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

In other Nymex trading in July contracts, heating oil rose 3.99 cents to $2.0103 a gallon, and gasoline added 4.67 cents to $2.292 a gallon. Natural gas was up 14.3 cents at $4.391 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, the Brent crude July contact was up $1.50 at $74.21 on the ICE futures exchange.....Here's more AP business news!

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Crude Oil Daily Technical Outlook For Tuesday Morning

With 4 hours MACD crossed below signal line, intraday bias in Crude oil is turned neutral. Break of 71.23 minor support will indicate that rebound from 64.23 is finished and will flip intraday bias back to the downside for retesting this low first. On the upside, above 75.72 will bring another rise, but after all, upside should be limited by 61.8% retracement of 87.15 to 64.23 at 78.39 and bring fall resumption.

In the bigger picture, prior break of 68.59/69.50 support zone affirms our view that whole medium term rebound from 33.2 has completed at 87.15 already, just ahead of 50% retracement of 147.27 to 33.2 at 90.24. Further decline should be seen to 50% retracement of 33.2 to 87.15 at 60.18 at least. Also, as rebound from 33.2 is viewed as as a correction to the whole correction that started at 2008 at 147.27, we'd anticipate a break of 33.2 low in the longer term. On the upside, break of resistance at 78 level is needed to be indicate that fall from 87.15 is completed. Otherwise, we'll stay bearish.....Nymex Crude Oil Continuous Contract 4 Hours Chart.

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