Wall Street

Online Stock Market Trading Prices of oil futures sank to their lowest level in nearly a month yesterday, continuing the selloff sparked last week by rising supplies of crude and easing fears about the refining industry's ability to satisfy heating oil demand.

Dollar gains yesterday were also supported by the declining oil prices that hit a 19 month low yesterday. Due to the comfortable weather and the overall declining demand for oil products, crude oil is currently trading around a barrel. Lower energy costs are considered positive for economic growth as they constitute a sizable portion of overall inputs prices. This allows manufacturers to lower prices and consumers to buy more.

Stock Investing Course The downward momentum appeared to overshadow concerns traders had about a possible strike in oil-rich Nigeria and a new setback to Russian oil giant Yukos, which was reportedly hit with $10 billion in new tax claims yesterday.

The current price for Brent Crude oil has subsided over the last few months, expected winter in the northern hemisphere and the resulting need for less heat.

Stock Market Game December crude futures declined by $1.63, to settle at $50.13 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange -- the lowest closing price since Oct. 4, when futures settled at $49.91 per barrel. In London, December Brent crude futures fell $1.92 to $47.06 per barrel.

Brent crude fell 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $62.35 a barrel in London and in New York earlier today, crude oil had been as low as $63.51. month high of $65.05 yesterday on speculation Iran's nuclear program would hurt its crude exports if UN sanctions were imposed. In August, time record of $70.85, putting its current price nearly 10 percent below that level. But the majority of traders believe that next week oil prices will once again rise, though investors will have to wait until Tuesday to find out as the New York Mercantile Exchange will be closed Monday inobservance of the Martin Luther King holiday.

Stock Investing Game "We could move a couple of bucks more on the downside," Tom Bentz, BNP Paribas Futures trader, said.

Also yesterday, the Crude Oil Inventories data was published. The oil inventories fell as low as 1.6M from 6.9M, but not surprisingly, Oil prices jumped over 1%. Crude prices are standing now $1 shy of its 9 month high.

Journal Prime Rate Street Wall Bentz added that worldwide oil supplies remain tight. "I'd be a little cautious" about declaring the beginning of the end of high prices, he said. "The reality is that not a lot has changed fundamentally."

Light crude oil for July delivery rose nearly two percent to more than $38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices for London's Brent crude also rose to nearly $36 a barrel. Basra's harbormaster said saboteurs attacked a pipeline Monday night. It's the second time in less than six weeks that Basra's exports have been disrupted by attacks. Before the blast, Iraq was exporting more than 1.5 million barrels of oil each day.

Stock Market News Aaron Kildow, a broker with Prudential Financial in New York, said yesterday's slide was magnified by selling among institutional investors, such as mutual funds, who had to cover earlier bets that prices would rise. Kildow also said a burst of warm weather in the Northeast may have influenced market psychology.

Stock Investing Basics December heating oil futures plummeted 5.65 cents to $1.4076 per gallon on Nymex, where gasoline futures fell 3.77 cents to $1.2908 per gallon. Natural gas for December delivery dropped 0.5 cent to $8.720 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Stock Investing Software Last week, oil prices fell from record closing prices on Nymex after the Energy Department said crude supplies had increased 4 million barrels to 283.4 million barrels -- about double what Wall Street was expecting. Also, data maintained by the Minerals Management Service showed a significant recovery in industrywide oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, where operations have been snagged since mid-September due to Hurricane Ivan.

Stock Market Trading China's move to cool its red-hot economy by raising interest rates also eased pressure on oil prices.

Stock Investing For Dummy While crude prices are still up by more than 70 percent from a year ago, they would need to surpass $90 per barrel to approximate the all-time high, in inflation-adjusted terms, set in 1980. A record Nymex closing price of $55.17 per barrel was reached Oct. 22 and matched Oct. 26.

Stock Market Crash By Brad Foss
Associated Press - 11/2/2004

Topic: Petroleum Industry

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