Thursday, September 2, 2010

Crude Oil Trader Market Summary For Wednesday Evening

The S&P 500 index closed higher on Thursday as it extended yesterday's breakout above the 20 day moving average. The high range close sets the stage for a steady to higher opening on Friday. Stochastics and the RSI are bullish signaling that additional gains are possible near term. If September extends this week's rally, the reaction high crossing at 1098.40 is the next upside target. Closes below Tuesday's low crossing at 1037.50 would confirm that a short term top has been posted. First resistance is today's high crossing at 1086.70. Second resistance is the reaction high crossing at 1098.50. First support is the 10 day moving average crossing at 1060.89. Second support is Tuesday's low crossing at 1037.50.

Crude oil closed higher on Thursday and the high range close sets the stage for a steady to higher opening on Friday. Stochastics and the RSI are bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near term. Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 75.58 are needed to confirm that a short term low has been posted. If October renews the decline off August's high, May's low crossing at 70.35 is the next downside target. First resistance is last Friday's high crossing at 75.21. Second resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 75.58. First support is last Wednesday's low crossing at 70.76. Second support is May's low crossing at 70.35.

Natural gas closed higher on Thursday as it extends the trading range of the past five days. The mid-range close sets the stage for a steady opening on Friday. Stochastics and the RSI are oversold but remain neutral to bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near term. If October extends this year's decline, weekly support crossing at 3.225 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.101 would confirm that a short term low has been posted. First resistance is the 10 day moving average crossing at 3.889. Second resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.101. First support is last Friday's low crossing at 3.697. Second support is weekly support crossing at 3.225.

Gold closed higher on Thursday and tested the 87% retracement level of the June-July decline crossing at 1253.30. Stochastics and the RSI are overbought, diverging but are neutral to bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near term. If August extends the rally off July's low, June's high crossing at 1267.10 is the next upside target. Closes below the 20 day moving average crossing at 1226.60 would confirm that a short term top has been posted. First resistance is Wednesday's high crossing at 1255.30. Second resistance is June's high crossing at 1267.10. First support is the 10 day moving average crossing at 1238.60. Second support is the 20 day moving average crossing at 1226.60.

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Phil Flynn: ISM Into The Wild Blue Yonder Flying High Into The Sky

Where the heck did that come from? The Institute for Supply Management gave the market just what the doctor ordered with a shocking good reading on manufacturing. Why was it so shocking? Well some of the regional manufacturing reports like the Philly Fed and the Empire State numbers were so lousy. Maybe the Chicago Purchasing Manger report should have given a clue but instead of lousy we go the first increase in four months with an expansive jump to 56.3, up from 55.5 in July.

That was much higher than the expected 53.2 expectations and came ohm the heels of a strong PMI number in China! And what was probably even more important was that the ISM Employment Index part of the report that registered 60.4 percent in August, which is 1.8 percentage points higher than the 58.6 percent reported in July. According to ISM this is the ninth consecutive month of growth in manufacturing employment. An Employment Index above 49.8 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on manufacturing employment and should also beef up the expectations on Fridays whopping large monthly jobs report. It should also booster oil demand expectations as well as.....Read the entire article.

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Silver About To Break Out Big!

Silver is one asset class I do not cover very often, but have been largely bullish on since $6 an ounce many years ago. It can be considered “poor man’s Gold” as they say. I believe Silver is about to stage a pretty large advance based loosely on the Elliott Wave pattern I see unfolding after a 9 odd month consolidation. (Obviously, there are also fundamental fiat currency/debt events worldwide that give it the underlying bull chart pattern). Since the average person can’t run out and buy an ounce of Gold for $1,240 tomorrow, as the unfolding of the fiat crises continues to enter the public psyche, you will see a strong populace movement into buying silver, silver coins, etc. To wit, many silver stocks are moving up strongly of late, signally an imminent breakout of this precious and industrial metal.

The triangle pattern has taken nearly 9 months so far, and a move over $19.50 could start a multi-month run targeting $26-$29 per ounce for starters before a broad pullback. A few silver stocks worth looking at include SLW (Silver Wheaton, which purchases future silver mine production in advance at a discount), a long time favorite of mine and Fortuna Silver, a growing producer and explorer favored by some of the brightest minds in the business. I do not own shares in either, so I have no inherent bias to mention them other than they are worth your time to review sooner than later. TMTF does not offer stock or trading advice, so please do your own research and consult a professional if need be.

I post the Silver chart below and my outline shows my views of a multi month 5 wave bullish triangle pattern on a weekly chart. Silver needs to bust through $19.50 per ounce to confirm, but I suspect we will see this fairly soon.



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Crude Oil Futures Fall as U.S. Jobs Report Signals Slowing Economic Recovery

Crude oil fell as initial U.S. jobless claims bolstered concern that the country’s economy will be slow to recover, crimping fuel demand. Oil slipped as much as 1.1 percent as a report showed that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits decreased by 6,000 to 472,000 in the week ended Aug. 28. U.S. crude oil stockpiles climbed 3.43 million barrels to 361.7 million last week, an Energy Department report showed yesterday.

“Although jobless claims dropped a little, they are still above 470,000, which is a sign that the economy is still in a lot of trouble,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. Crude oil for October delivery fell 57 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $73.34 a barrel at 9:07 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude oil for October settlement lost 94 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $75.41 a barrel on the London based ICE Futures Europe Exchange. The increase in crude oil stockpiles left supplies 11 percent above the five year average for the period, according to the department. “U.S. inventories are pretty enormous,” said Alexander Ridgers, head of commodities at London based CMC Markets, which handles more than $150 million a day in U.S. crude contracts.

Overall petroleum stockpiles, a combination of oil and fuel supplies, climbed 4.04 million barrels, or 0.4 percent, to 1.14 billion, the highest level since at least 1990, according to yesterday’s report. “Supplies are ample,” McGillian said. “Yesterday’s inventory report showed that petroleum stockpiles were at a record high for a third consecutive week.”

Reporter Mark Shenk can be reached at mshenk1@bloomberg.net

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Crude Oil Daily Technical Outlook For Thursday Morning

Crude oil was lower overnight as it consolidates some of Wednesday's rally. Stochastics and the RSI are neutral to bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near term.

Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 75.51 are needed to confirm that a short term low has been posted. If October renews the decline off August's high, May's low crossing at 70.35 is the next downside target.

First resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 75.51
Second resistance is Monday's high crossing at 75.58

Crude oil pivot point for Thursday morning is 73.35

First support is last Wednesday's low crossing at 70.76
Second support is May's low crossing at 70.35

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SP500 and Gold At Crucial Pivot Points

WOW that was some big short covering and buying today! And we hope you got a piece of it! Wednesday was a big session with better than expected manufacturing surging the market 3%. In this article I will do a quick technical take on the current situation for the SP500 and gold as they are both trading at a key resistance level. also its important to know what type of price action we will get in the next 1-2 days so you can have your profit targets or protective stops in place depending on which side of the market you are currently playing.

SPY – SP500 Exchange Traded Fund – 60 Minute Chart
The market is currently in a down trend which means bounces get sold. But if you take a look at the buying volume ratio at the bottom of the chart you will notice that in an uptrend buying surges are the beginning of a rally, and during a downtrend buying surges are the end of a rally. I also want to mention that a lot of volume traded at this current level which you can see on the volume by price bars on the chart. This means there will be a lot of sellers to overcome before breaking to the upside.

The situation the market is at now makes things difficult to tell if this bounce will get sold, or if its just the starting of a rally. There are several arguments for each side but the one which I think has the most influence is the buying volume. It was very strong on this current bounce. It feels more like a rally but we will not know for sure for a couple days…

That being said, if the SP500 moves up Thursday then I would consider the market to be in an uptrend and exiting any short positions is a smart play. But if this bounce is sold and the market drops, then the 3% rally on Wednesday could all be given back and then some.


GLD Gold Exchange Traded Fund – 60 Minute Chart
Gold has continued to grind its way up to the previous top. Problem is the volume has been very light and that tells me there is not much demand for gold at these elevated prices. While we are still long gold it is crucial to have your protective stop in place so we lock in as much profit as possible for when the sharp selling spike happens.


Mid-Week Technical Take:
In short, the market feels like its trying to reverse back up but at this time its still in a down trend and trading under a key resistance level. This means trading with the trend and selling the bounces is still the play.

That being said today’s strong volume makes this bounce suspect. Keeping positions small and setting a protective stop should be done as a safety precaution. The next couple days will shed some light for sure…

As for gold, I am still bullish but expecting our protective stops to be triggered any day now, which means we get paid and can mark another successful trade down on the scoreboard.

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Leaked German Military Report Warns Of Apocalyptic Peak Oil Scenarios

The German army doesn't want you to know how freaked out it is about peak oil. But an internal report has leaked to the internet, with excerpts translated by Spiegel. The report says there is "some probability that peak oil will occur around the year 2010 and that the impact on security is expected to be felt 15 to 30 years later."

Nightmare scenarios include:
Market failures: The authors paint a bleak picture of the consequences resulting from a shortage of petroleum. As the transportation of goods depends on crude oil, international trade could be subject to colossal tax hikes. "Shortages in the supply of vital goods could arise" as a result, for example in food supplies. Oil is used directly or indirectly in the production of 95% of all industrial goods. Price shocks could therefore be seen in almost any industry and throughout all stages of the industrial supply chain. "In the medium term the global economic system and every market-oriented national economy would collapse."

Global chain reaction: "A restructuring of oil supplies will not be equally possible in all regions before the onset of peak oil," says the study. "It is likely that a large number of states will not be in a position to make the necessary investments in time," or with "sufficient magnitude." If there were economic crashes in some regions of the world, Germany could be affected. Germany would not escape the crises of other countries, because it's so tightly integrated into the global economy.

Crisis of political legitimacy: The Bundeswehr study also raises fears for the survival of democracy itself. Parts of the population could comprehend the upheaval triggered by peak oil "as a general systemic crisis." This would create "room for ideological and extremist alternatives to existing forms of government." Fragmentation of the affected population is likely and could "in extreme cases lead to open conflict."

From Gus Lubin at Business Insider.Com.

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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Where is Crude Oil and Gold Headed on Thursday?

CNBC's Sharon Epperson discusses the day's activity in the commodities markets, and looks ahead to where oil and gold are likely headed tomorrow.




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Phil Flynn: Earl, The Grinch That Stole Labor Day

All of the Who’s down in Whoville may be safe but it seems Hurricane Earl is bent on washing out and stealing their Labor Day fun! The holiday weekend may wash away for many states up and down the East coast.

As Hurricane Earl barrels down it will bring a crashing end to the summer gasoline demand season that was already not up to par with market expectations. The so called “Summer of Recovery” and the all of the gasoline and oil demand expectations that came along with it, now looks like it should be more appropriately titled “The Boulevard of Broken dreams”.

Up and down the Easy Coast of the United States, vacations, tee times, picnics and frivolity of all kinds are being canceled as that heartless monster, Earl, is showing us he has not learned the true meaning of the Labor day holiday which is to relax and burn up a lot of gas. And Earl has his accomplices and no, it is not a dog dressed up as a reindeer.

No, Earl's accomplice is a companion tropical storm named Fiona and a potential tropical wave behind that as well will, at the very least, assure us some very lousy weather for much of the East Coast from Florida with the worst in the Carolina’s all the way up potentially to New York.....Read the entire article.

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Crude Oil Climbs After Reports Show Gains in U.S., Chinese Manufacturing

Crude oil rose after manufacturing in the U.S. and China, the world’s biggest energy consuming countries, accelerated at a faster pace than expected in August. Oil climbed as much as 3 percent and equities rebounded from the biggest August slump in nine years after the Tempe, Arizona based Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose to 56.3 from 55.5 in July. U.S. crude oil supplies increased 3.43 million barrels to 361.7 million last week, an Energy Department report showed today.

“Oil moves along with equities, the fundamentals don’t matter,” said Chip Hodge, who oversees a $9 billion natural, resource bond portfolio as senior managing director at MFC Global Investment Management in Boston. “Any shred of positive or negative economic news will move the oil market by a couple percentage points.” Crude oil for October delivery rose $2.26, or 3.1 percent, to $74.18 a barrel at 10:59 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil traded at $73.63 a barrel before the release of the report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.

Economists forecast the ISM factory index would decline to 52.8, according to the median of 78 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 49.9 to 56. Manufacturing in China grew at a faster pace in August after the weakest performance since early 2009 in July, signaling that the economy’s slowdown is stabilizing.

Rising Index
The purchasing managers’ index rose to 51.7 from 51.2, exceeding forecasts, a government-backed report showed. Seasonal factors might have had an effect because the index typically gains as factories restart following July maintenance, Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. said. A separate PMI released by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics gained to 51.9 from 49.4.

The August reading for the government index was more than the median 51.5 forecast in the Bloomberg survey of 17 economists. Fifty is the dividing line between expansion and contraction.
Australia’s economy grew at the fastest pace in three years last quarter, stoked by China’s demand for iron ore. Gross domestic product advanced 1.2 percent from the first quarter, when it rose a revised 0.7 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today.

Reporter Mark Shenk can be reached at mshenk1@bloomberg.net and Margot Habiby at mhabiby@bloomberg.net.

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Crude Oil Technical Outlook For Wednesday Morning

Crude oil was higher due to short covering overnight as it consolidates some of the decline off last Friday's high. Stochastics and the RSI are neutral to bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near term.

Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 75.88 are needed to confirm that a short term low has been posted. If October renews this month's decline, May's low crossing at 70.35 is the next downside target.

First resistance is Monday's high crossing at 75.58
Second resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 75.88

Crude oil pivot point for Wednesday morning is 72.73

First support is last Wednesday's low crossing at 70.76
Second support is May's low crossing at 70.35

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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Where is Crude Oil and Gold Headed on Wednesday?

CNBC's Sharon Epperson discusses the day's activity in the commodities markets, and looks ahead to where oil & gold are likely headed tomorrow.




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Bears Maintain Near Term Technical Advantage as Traders Wait For Friday's U.S. Jobs Report

The U.S. stock indexes closed firmer today and saw some short covering to end the month. Bears still have the overall near term technical advantage. Traders are awaiting Friday's key U.S. jobs report. Trading could be quieter up until Friday morning. Remember that the months of September and October have been historically unkind to the stock market bulls. Friday's jobs report and the stock market's reaction to it could set the tone for trading in the stock indexes during the month of September.

Crude oil closed down $2.95 at $71.75 a barrel today. Prices closed near the session low today as bears have regained fresh downside technical momentum. A less than rosy economic assessment from the Fed in its FOMC minutes helped to sink crude today. Crude oil bears have the overall near term technical advantage.

Natural gas closed down 0.2 cents at $3.81 today. Prices closed near mid-range today. The bears still have the solid overall near term technical advantage. A 2 1/2 month old downtrend is still in place on the daily bar chart. The next upside price objective for the bulls is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $4.20.

The U.S. dollar index closed up 3 points at 83.59 today. Prices closed nearer the session high today. Bulls and bears are still on a level near term technical playing field. Bulls' next upside price objective is to close prices above solid technical resistance at 85.00.

Gold futures closed up $11.80 at $1,251.00 today. Prices closed near the session high, hit a fresh two month high, scored a bullish "outside day" up on the daily bar chart and posted a significantly bullish monthly high close today. Bulls gained fresh upside technical momentum today and are now poised to challenge the all time high of $1,270.60, scored in June. A weaker U.S. dollar and some fresh safe haven buying interest also helped to support the gold market today.

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Bloomberg Analysis: Crude Oil Price May Fall to $63 If Cap at "Pivot High" Holds

Crude oil may decline as low as $63 a barrel in New York if prices remain capped by a “pivot high” at $76.47, according to technical analysis by Barclays Capital. Oil futures for October settlement traded around $74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange today, having lost about 6 percent in August during their first monthly slide since June. Barclays predicts the losses may extend as far as $63 to $65 a barrel if crude stays below the level that confirmed the most recent downward trend, known as a “pivot high.”

On Aug. 19, following a two week fall in which oil dropped 9 percent, crude rose as high as $76.47. That level, higher than the previous and following days’ closing prices, constitutes a pivot high. In the following week, crude slumped to a three month low of $70.76, confirming that the downward slope had not been broken. “Absent a close above $76.47, I think you’ll maintain the downtrend,” Barclays analyst MacNeil Curry said in a telephone interview from New York today.

Prices will first be drawn to $70.35 a barrel, the lowest point reached by the October contract during its slide in May, according to Curry. After that, it is “fairly likely” the commodity will plunge another $6 to $7 as sagging equity indexes drag other markets lower, he said. “The inter-market is not very constructive right now,” Curry said. “Equity markets remain vulnerable to further downside.”

Reporter Grant Smith can be reached at gsmith52@bloomberg.net

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Schlumberger Finalizes $11 Billion Dollar Merger with Smith International

Schlumberger has closed its merger with Smith International. As previously announced, each Smith stockholder will receive 0.6966 shares of Schlumberger common stock in exchange for each Smith share, with cash paid in lieu of any fractional shares of Schlumberger common stock. Schlumberger has issued approximately 176 million shares pursuant to the merger, representing a transaction value of approximately $11 billion. As a result, former Smith stockholders own approximately 12.9% of Schlumberger's outstanding shares of common stock.

The merger widens Schlumberger's lead as the world's largest oilfield services company based on revenue and market capitalization. Smith's drilling technologies, other products and expertise complement a variety of Schlumberger technology offerings, while the geographical footprint of Schlumberger will enable the merged companies to extend joint offerings worldwide.

Andrew Gould, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Schlumberger, commented, "I am extremely pleased to welcome Smith employees, customers and shareholders to Schlumberger. We are ready to begin the process of realizing the synergies made possible by this merger and our focus in the near term is on the execution of plans that have been laid out these past few months while continuing to deliver safety and quality in our field operations. Beyond the near term, the merger will allow us to address new markets and develop new technologies, and employees from both companies will have key roles to play in unlocking the value brought by the combination."

John Yearwood, former Chief Executive Officer of Smith, said, "This is an exciting time for all the former Smith International employees as we aggressively expand our service offerings through the rapid implementation of the identified growth strategies while continuing to focus on our customers' everyday needs. The quality of the integration planning process has been outstanding and everyone is looking forward to exceeding expectations."


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Phil Flynn: The Hurricane Threat!

Many oil traders when they think about the impact of hurricanes on the oil market most often focus on the threat to supply. Yet the truth is more often than not hurricanes are more of a threat to demand then they are to supply. That is definitely the case when it comes to Hurricane Earl, not to mention tropical storm Fiona, Hurricane Danielle and a storm to be named later. Earl in particular could do major demand destruction as its path is perilously close to the East Coast.

Earl currently is a category 4 hurricane and is expected to graze the tip of North Carolina on Friday at 2 am just as vacationers are planning to arrive for the big three day Labor Day holiday weekend. I am sure many looking at the weather maps may be canceling their plans already as many will not want to chance the storm. In fact cancelation may become more prevalent as storm warnings all up and down the East coast may cause vacationers and beach lovers to stay closer to home! Hurricane Earl could just destroy a lot of holiday weekend travel plans and the gasoline demand that was expected. The oil and gas market was expecting.....Read the entire article.

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Crude Oil Technical Outlook For Tuesday Morning August 31st

Crude oil was lower overnight as it consolidates some of last Friday's rally. Stochastics and the RSI are bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near term.

Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 76.49 are needed to confirm that a short term low has been posted. If October renews this month's decline, May's low crossing at 70.35 is the next downside target.

First resistance is Monday's high crossing at 75.58
Second resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 76.49

Crude oil pivot point for Tuesday morning is 74.76

First support is last Wednesday's low crossing at 70.76
Second support is May's low crossing at 70.35



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Monday, August 30, 2010

Where Does The King of Natural Gas Price Forecasts Say Prices Are Headed

From Peter Schaefer at "Oil and Gas Investment"......

First Energy analyst Martin King, whom I believe has called the natural gas market in North America better than anybody over the last two years, gave up on the likelihood of higher natural gas prices for the next 18 months in a report today, Aug 30.

“Let us reiterate: placing money in the natural gas investment space, aside from special one time circumstances, is likely to be dead on arrival” he wrote this morning. He lowered his forecast for prices in the US for 2010 by 40 cents per million BTU, and in 2011 by a full dollar per million BTU (Mmbtu).

Back in February 2009, he was one of the very few calling for a spring rally in gas prices, but there was one. Throughout July and August 2009 he counselled investors that a big seasonal run was coming in natural gas prices and gas stocks, and he was right. Today King was even more negative on Canadian natural gas prices than US prices: “Impacts for Canadian gas pricing are even more negative as we have also chosen to modestly widen the price spread between Nymex and Aeco prices over the same forecast horizon.”

NYMEX is the New York merchantile exchange, and one of the major hubs where natural gas prices are quoted. AECO is the the Alberta based Canadian standard natural gas price quote. In the US, the reason for the lower price forecast is simple: natural gas producers are still drilling, despite low prices.

In Canada, King’s reasoning for even lower prices than the US include one that I have been speaking about for months: increased pipeline capacity in the US that makes domestic gas very portable, and has opened up new markets (the Northeast US and California) for previously stranded Rocky Mountain gas in the US, the mainstream Canadian media have not reported on this, and the amount of Canadian gas that is being displaced by this, at all.

Increasing gas supply coming out of Western Canada, as the Montney, Horn River and gas saturated oil plays increase production. First Energy forecast an actual increase in Western Canadian gas production in 2011, which would be the first time since 2006. King also spoke to a new pipeline taking Canadian gas down into the US at a time when the US market is having a hard time digesting all its own new home grown supply.

In an entertaining 7 page report, he used the analogy of the supply side being a big dragon, and the only sword that could slay it is sustained low prices for 18-24 months“....we are now wielding a price sword to slay this supply dragon with the view that prices low enough for long enough, will tilt the balance of the market firmly to a structurally undersupplied situation.”

Interestingly, natural gas prices rallied today, crawling back over $3/mmcf in Canada and up 11 cents to $3.74 in the US. Also, this last week of August marked the low price point for natural gas in Canada and the US for all of 2009.

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Crude Oil Heads for First Monthly Slide Since May on Slowing Global Growth

Crude oil fell, headed for its first monthly decline since May, as slower than forecast growth in U.S. personal incomes stoked speculation the pace of economic recovery in the world’s largest crude user may falter. Futures dropped as much as 1.3 percent, extending their decline from the highest level in a week, after the Commerce Department said that incomes rose 0.2 percent, less than the 0.3 percent median estimate of 66 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. An Energy Department report tomorrow may show crude inventories gained last week.

“The past couple of weeks have been clouded by talk of a double dip recession,” said Ben Westmore, a minerals and energy economist at National Australia Bank Ltd. in Melbourne. “Until we get some macro news that is more consistent, these markets are going to be a bit choppy.” The October contract fell as much as 94 cents to $73.76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $73.82 at 1:43 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, it dropped 0.6 percent to $74.70.

Prices have tumbled 6.3 percent this month and are down 6.8 percent since the start of the year. Oil rose 2.3 percent last week, the biggest increase since the period ended July 23. “The roller coaster ride continues,” said David Taylor, a market analyst at CMC Markets Ltd. in Sydney. “Markets have become hyper-sensitive to economic developments”.....Read the entire article.

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Phil Flynn: Big Bad Ben!

Commodity bears be on notice: Ben is coming to run that big bad deflation out of town. Ben Bernanke has made it clear that the Fed will step up if prices go down. Those words should bring comfort to commodity bulls that have been under assault from an array of weakening economic indicators. That worn out song “for an extended period” may change to "forever and a life time" and the Fed stands at the ready by the printing presses ready to print at a moment’s notice if price fall too far.

It is clear as Mr. Bernanke says that monetary policy continues to play a prominent role in promoting the economic recovery. And if it plays a prominent role in the economic recovery, it is a major factor in promoting the price of oil. Without the Fed's help, oil prices would be collapsing under the weight of near record supply. When the Fed takes steps to fight deflation it directly supports the price of oil. It does it in two ways. One way is because it weakens the dollar.....Read the entire article.

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