Commodities » Energy

Oil and natural gas daily review (September 09, 2010)

Contributed by Nirmal Bang

By Nirmal Bang

MARKET ROUNDUP

U.S. crude oil futures rose more than $1 per barrel on Wednesday as rising equities, a weaker dollar and a raised forecast for global oil demand growth from the government helped lift crude futures.

IN FOCUS

- The U.S. government on Wednesday slightly raised its forecast for growth in world oil demand this year, but cut the forecast for next year on the gloomy outlook for strong global economic expansion.

- Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude exporter, will supply full contracted volumes of crude oil in October to at least six Asian term buyers, as expected and steady with September levels, industry sources said on Thursday.

- Kuwait has raised the official selling price (OSP) for its crude oil sales to Asian buyers for October by 5 cents a barrel to $2.30 a barrel below the average of Oman/ Dubai quotes, a trader said on Thursday.

- Chile's state oil company ENAP said on Wednesday it saw no need to boost oil and gas imports after it shut down a production platform in the Strait of Magellan following a fire.

- U.S. crude inventories fell sharply last week, confounding analysts who expected them to rise, and gasoline stocks rose when analysts had forecast a draw, according to weekly data from the American Petroleum Institute released on Wednesday.

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK

Crude oil prices are trading marginally on NYMEX today. We have important crude oil inventory data to be released from EIA later in the evening session today. Any major draw down in the stocks is likely to limit the down side in crude oil prices.