10:14 DJS Crude Oil Modestly Higher At Nymex; CRB Futures Index Up 1.20
10:14 DJS Crude Oil Modestly Higher At Nymex; CRB Futures Index Up 1.20
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Commodities futures were mixed Thursday. In New
York, coffee, crude oil and petroleum products were higher, while precious
metals were mixed at the Commodities Exchange. In Chicago, grains and beans
were little changed and livestock futures again were weak.
Shortly after 11 a.m. EDT, the CRB-Bridge futures index was up 1.20 at
207.34.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange, September crude oil rose 23 cents
to $14.32 a barrel. October crude oil added 24 cents to trade at $14.61 a
barrel.
Among petroleum products, September unleaded gasoline rose 0.18 cent to
trade at 42.20 cents a gallon. September heating oil was up 0.42 cent to 37.05
cents a gallon.
September natural gas rose 1.20 cents to $1.945 per million BTUs.
Traders cited a mix of technical and fundamental factors for the early
firming in the petroleum complex.
Technically, the products have been heavily sold for a while and are
due for an upward correction, one analyst said. September crude's settlement
above $14 Wednesday after a sharp inventory-related sell-off in gasoline
futures was an encouraging sign, he added.
U.S. Senate approval Wednesday night of a bill including a $420 million
provision to fund Department of Energy oil purchases for the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was viewed as supportive. At $15 a barrel, the
purchase would amount to around 28 million barrels, and could be initiated as
soon as October.
But it's not yet a done deal. Senate and House conferees have to meld
their separate versions of the bill into a unified version to send to the
White House - which may veto the bill on non-SPR related items.
Nevertheless, the psychological impact of the sale was there. "If the
U.S. starts buying oil in the third and fourth quarters, it could help tighten
things," said Victor Yu, an energy analyst with Refco. Those two quarters
typically see the highest petroleum demand of the year.
Also lending support was talk that heavy buying of refined products by
Nigeria has begun to draw some cargoes of U.S. gasoline to the African
country.
On New York's Commodities Exchange, August gold was up 30 cents at
$290.20 an ounce.
September silver dropped 5.3 cents to trade at $5.540 an ounce.
October platinum was flat at $380.50 per ounce.
Among industrial metals, September copper rose 1.25 cents to 79.20
cents per pound.
Gold was fixed Thursday afternoon in London at $290.00 an ounce, up 85
cents from the morning London fixing.
Among food and fiber futures in New York:
September coffee extended its recent rally, rising 0.70 cent to $1.1910
per pound.
December cotton fell 0.18 cent to trade at 71.55 cents per pound.
October sugar added 0.22 cent to 8.74 cents per pound.
September orange juice fell 0.50 cent to 107.10 cents per pound.
Among grains in Chicago:
December wheat rose 1 cent to trade at $2.68 1/2 per bushel.
December corn was flat at $2.26 a bushel.
December oats rose 1 cent to trade at $1.20 1/2 a bushel.
Despite modest gains in wheat, analysts said bearish weather forecasts
weighed on the market.
"The weather is still pretty benign, and that's bearish," said Victor
Lespinasse, analyst with A.G. Edwards on the CBOT floor.
November soybeans rose 1 1/4 cents to $5.69 1/2 a bushel. The new 6-10
day weather forecast from the National Weather Service shows cooler, wetter
conditions across much of the main Corn Belt in early August. The bean crop
soon will enter its main development stage, and conditions appear just about
perfect for record production.
In livestock:
August cattle was down 0.63 cent to trade at 60.45 cents per pound.
August hogs fell 0.18 cent to 49.12 cents per pound.
August pork bellies dropped 1.28 cents to trade at 54.90 cents per
pound, hurt by a weak cash market, extending Wednesday's skid of nearly 2.4
cents.
Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
07/30 10:14a CDT
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