Commodities » Energy

Oil and natural gas daily review (August 20, 2010)

Contributed by Nirmal Bang

By Nirmal Bang

MARKET ROUNDUP

U.S. crude oil futures prices fell a second straight session on Thursday as weak U.S. economic data fueled concerns about demand in a tepid economic recovery.

IN FOCUS

-- U.S. crude imports from Canada, the country's top oil supplier, fell to around 1.77 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, their lowest level in months, according to weekly import data from the Energy Information Administration.

- Bolivia's natural gas exports increased 7.5 percent to an average of 30.1 million cubic meters a day in the first half of 2010 from the same period last year, state-run energy company YPFB said on Thursday.

- Gulf Resources, Inc. a leading manufacturer of bromine, crude salt and specialty chemical products in China, today announced that the bromine and crude salt production assets acquired in June 2010 started formal production on August 19, 2010.

- Indonesia's Pertamina has reissued a tender to buy sweet crude oil for October delivery after declining to buy a cargo in the original tender, a trade source said on Thursday. Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) said on Sunday.

- Vietnam's state oil marketer PV Oil has sold via tender an October-loading cargo of medium sweet Dai Hung crude to Mitsui at a higher premium than the previous tender, a trader said on Friday.

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK

Crude oil prices are trading side-ways on NYMEX today. Outlook for crude remain bearish on the back of worries for the U.S. economy recovery that is world's top oil-consuming nation and weak global equity markets are likely to pressurize the prices. Selling on rise should be the investor's strategy today.