15:01 DJS Crude Up As Storm Damage Assessed, Metals Mixed; CRB Index Up 0.4
15:01 DJS Crude Up As Storm Damage Assessed, Metals Mixed; CRB Index Up 0.41
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Commodities futures ended mixed Tuesday. On the
New York Mercantile Exchange, crude-oil and petroleum-products futures
advanced as storm damage from George continued to be assessed. Also in New
York, precious metals ended mixed. In Chicago, grains and beans finished
mostly lower.
At about 4 p.m. EDT, the CRB-Bridge futures index was up 0.41 at
203.71.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange, November crude oil climbed 34
cents to settle at at $15.98 a barrel. December crude oil added 27 cents to
end at $16.03.
Georges, which stayed at hurricane strength for 11 days as it hammered
the Caribbean, Florida, and the U.S. Gulf, was downgraded to a tropical storm.
Several refineries, which had shut ahead of the storm, were restarting.
"There may be some problems, but it could have been a lot worse," said
Victor Yu, an energy analyst with Refco Inc.
But analysts were not quite ready to fully remove the storm premium
until they hear from the American Petroleum Institute, which releases its
weekly inventory data later Tuesday. Crude stocks have dropped for several
weeks in a row, partly because of disruptions from previous storms, Earl and
Frances. Most analysts expect further distortion in inventory from the string
of storms.
At the same time, some analysts suspect that a real shift in market
fundamentals is underway now that OPEC has come close to fully implementing
its pledge to remove 2.6 million barrels of oil a day from the world market.
The International Energy Agency showed the group to be 83% compliant with the
pledge in August.
Among petroleum products: October unleaded gasoline rose 0.45 cent to
settle at 46.27 cents a gallon. October heating oil rose 0.13 cent to settle
at 41.86 cents a gallon.
Near the close, November natural gas was up 4.3 cents at $2.345 per
million BTUs.
On New York's Commodities Exchange, December gold fell $1.10 to end at
$296.90 an ounce. Gold was fixed Tuesday afternoon in London at $296.00 an
ounce, down 85 cents from the morning fixing.
December silver futures climbed 7.0 cents to end at $5.360 an ounce.
Talk persisted that a big market player, so far unidentified, was building up
a large position in silver.
October platinum tumbled $6.60 to settle at $347.20 per ounce.
Among industrial metals, December copper fell 0.05 cent to settle at
75.30 cents per pound.
Among grains in Chicago:
December wheat settled unchanged at $2.76 3/4 per bushel.
December corn fell 1 cent to settle at $2.11 3/4 a bushel
December oats fell 1/2 cent to finish at $1.12 1/2 per bushel.
November soybeans fell 5 cents to settle at $5.27 1/4 a bushel.
Corn and beans were pressured by improved condition ratings in Monday's
U.S. Department of Agriculture Crop Progress report, and from Monday's
National Weather Service 6-10 day forecast, which predicted hotter than normal
temperatures and drier than normal conditions for most of the Midwest - ideal
harvest weather.
The USDA said corn rated in good or excellent condition rose to 69%
from 68% in the previous report, while soybeans in good or excellent shape
rose to 61% from the previous 59%.
In the livestock complex:
December cattle dipped 0.03 cent to settle at 61.95 cents per pound.
December hogs climbed 0.25 cent to end at 40.95 cents per pound.
February pork bellies dropped 0.88 cent to finish at 48.03 cents per
pound.
Among food and fiber futures in New York:
December coffee fell 2.80 cents to end at 105.70 cents per pound.
December cotton dropped 1.46 cents to settle at 72.91 cents per pound.
March sugar rose 0.12 cent to finish at 7.53 cents per pound.
November orange juice climbed 1.40 cents to finish at 100.15 cents per
pound.
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All Rights Reserved.
09/29 3:01p CDT
just to keep this thread going |
