Commodities » Energy

Oil and natural gas daily review (February 24, 2010)

Contributed by Nirmal Bang

By Nirmal Bang

MARKET ROUNDUP

Crude oil futures rose on Monday, settling above $80 a barrel after seesawing as striking French refinery workers and concerns about Iran helped crude oil finish higher for a fifth consecutive session.

IN FOCUS

- U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell unexpectedly last week as refiners hiked runs, according to weekly data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday.

- Crude inventories in the world's biggest oil consumer fell by 3.1 million barrels, API said. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 2 million barrel rise.

- Refinery runs rose 0.9 percentage points to 80.8 percent of capacity, from 79.9 pct the week before. Gasoline inventories rose 1.7 million barrels, versus analyst estimates of a 400,000 barrel build. Inventories of distillate fuels -- which include heating oil and diesel - fell 834,000 barrels, compared to the 1.6 million barrel draw expected by analysts.

- Crude oil imports rose 1.2 million bpd to 9.19 million bpd, while crude stocks at Cushing fell by 1.6 million barrels.

- Japan's crude imports fell 3.0 percent in January from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, as diversification towards other energy sources accelerates the decline in demand for for oil products.

- The European Union's energy strategy could cut a total 60 billion euros ($81.5 billion) off the bloc's oil and gas imports over the next decade, a leaked document from the EU executive shows. The 27- country EU could also reduce its wider dependence on commodity shipments from overseas in the hope of bolstering economies and security.

- Total has pledged not to close or sell any French refineries other than its Dunkirk plant for five years, which unions say clears the way to end a strike that has embarrassed the government ahead of regional polls.

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK

Crude futures edged above $79 a barrel NYMEX in the early trade session, after industry data the previous day showed an unexpected fall in U.S. crude inventories last week, in contrast to analysts' forecasts for a stock build. Outlook for crude oil is sideways to up for the day buying at dips is recommended during the day.