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Oil hovers above US$74 amid light holiday trading
Source: Agencies |
February 16, 2010, Tuesday
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OIL hovers above US$74 amid light holiday trading
OIL prices hovered above US$74 a barrel yesterday, supported by strong economic growth in Japan but held in check by a stronger dollar. Trading volume was light, however, due to holidays in Asia and the United States.
By mid-afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for March delivery was up 13 cents at US$74.26 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell US$1.15 to settle at US$74.13 on Friday.
Trading in the US is closed yesterday for the Presidents Day holiday.
In Japan, the government said yesterday that real gross domestic product grew at an annual pace of 4.6 percent in the October-December period, above economists' forecast of 3.4 percent.
Oil has crisscrossed the US$75 a barrel level in recent months - jumping to US$84 last month before dropping to US$69.59 earlier this month - as investors eye weak crude demand from the US and Europe offset by growing consumption in developing countries such as China.
"On the demand side, there are no changes in the trend: dead," said analyst Olivier Jakob from Petromatrix in Switzerland. "The US recovery is an oil-less recovery and demand is still lower than the depressed levels of a year ago and massively lower than the levels of 2008."
Traders are also closely watching the Greece debt crisis. Last week, the European Union signaled they would help Greece, but didn't give details about the assistance - those are expected to be discussed by finance ministers at a meeting later yesterday.
The debt worries have helped the US dollar make significant gains against euro, which in turn has blocked oil prices from rising, as a stronger dollar makes crude more expensive for investors holding other currencies.
The euro was down to US$1.3607 in European trading, down from US$1.3612 late Friday in New York, while the British pound rose slightly to US$1.5686 from US$1.5669 on Friday.
In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil rose 0.11 cent to US$1.92 a gallon and gasoline fell 0.2 cent to US$1.9293 a gallon. Natural gas rose 0.7 cent to US$5.475 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude was up 8 cents to US$72.98 on the ICE futures exchange.
OIL prices hovered above US$74 a barrel yesterday, supported by strong economic growth in Japan but held in check by a stronger dollar. Trading volume was light, however, due to holidays in Asia and the United States.
By mid-afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for March delivery was up 13 cents at US$74.26 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell US$1.15 to settle at US$74.13 on Friday.
Trading in the US is closed yesterday for the Presidents Day holiday.
In Japan, the government said yesterday that real gross domestic product grew at an annual pace of 4.6 percent in the October-December period, above economists' forecast of 3.4 percent.
Oil has crisscrossed the US$75 a barrel level in recent months - jumping to US$84 last month before dropping to US$69.59 earlier this month - as investors eye weak crude demand from the US and Europe offset by growing consumption in developing countries such as China.
"On the demand side, there are no changes in the trend: dead," said analyst Olivier Jakob from Petromatrix in Switzerland. "The US recovery is an oil-less recovery and demand is still lower than the depressed levels of a year ago and massively lower than the levels of 2008."
Traders are also closely watching the Greece debt crisis. Last week, the European Union signaled they would help Greece, but didn't give details about the assistance - those are expected to be discussed by finance ministers at a meeting later yesterday.
The debt worries have helped the US dollar make significant gains against euro, which in turn has blocked oil prices from rising, as a stronger dollar makes crude more expensive for investors holding other currencies.
The euro was down to US$1.3607 in European trading, down from US$1.3612 late Friday in New York, while the British pound rose slightly to US$1.5686 from US$1.5669 on Friday.
In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil rose 0.11 cent to US$1.92 a gallon and gasoline fell 0.2 cent to US$1.9293 a gallon. Natural gas rose 0.7 cent to US$5.475 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude was up 8 cents to US$72.98 on the ICE futures exchange.
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