Pressure Hits (BP) (GEOI) (ROSE) (LINE) (LUFK) as Oil Demand Falls

Falling demand for fuel has pushed down oil inventories and the price of oil, putting pressure on GeoResources (NASDAQ:GEOI), Rosetta Resources (NASDAQ:ROSE), Linn Energy, LLC (NASDAQ:LINE), Lufkin Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUFK) and BP (NYSE:BP).

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled down $2.47, or 2.2%, at $111.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. London Brent crude for June fell $2.67 to settle at $122.45 a barrel.

Front-month June reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled down $1.85 cents, or 0.6%, at $3.3294 a gallon. June heating oil lost 6.13 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $3.1908 a gallon.

Gasoline prices on average across America have jumped to just under $4.00 a gallon, rising to $3.97 a gallon for regular gas, according to AAA.

Silver is considered the key catalyst for downward pressure on oil prices and trading, as it has become a proxy to some for risk appetite among commodity traders.

After selling out of silver commodity traders followed up with divesting of positions in oil as well.

Even so, it appears the slight strengthening of the U.S dollar played a bit role Tuesday as well.

Rosetta Resources closed at $41.86, falling $2.95, or 6.58 percent.

Hess (HES) (APC) (HAL) (KOG) Close Up as Oil Jumps Again

Uncertainty as to the sustainability of high gasoline prices have been surfacing lately, but in America, it seems the higher prices aren't going away any time soon, and neither will higher oil prices, as Anadarko (NYSE:APC), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) and Kodiak Oil & Gas (AMEX:KOG) closed up on Tuesday.

Oil rose above $108 a barrel Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar weakened against other major currencies.

Benchmark crude for May delivery rose $1.03 to settle at $108.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Tuesday is the last trading day for that contract. Oil for June delivery climbed 59 cents to settle at $108.28 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading for May contracts, heating oil lost 2.43 cents to settle at $3.1585 a gallon and gasoline futures fell 1.97 cents to settle at $3.2331 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 12.4 cents to settle at $4.262 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude fell 28 cents to settle at $121.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Kodiak Oil & Gas closed Tuesday at $6.96, gaining $0.58, or 9.09 percent. Hess Corporation ended the day at $78.56, rising $1.35, or 1.75. Halliburton closed at $49.01, jumping $1.87, or 3.97 percent. Anadarko closed the session at $78.78, up $1.40, or 1.81 percent.

BP (BP) (XOM) (APA) (DVN) Close Up as Oil Jumps Again

Questions as to the sustainability of high gasoline prices have been surfacing, but in America, it appears the higher prices aren't going away any time soon, and neither will higher oil prices, as BP (NYSE:BP), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Apache Corp (NYSE:APA) and Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) closed up on Tuesday.

Oil rose above $108 a barrel Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar weakened against other major currencies.

Benchmark crude for May delivery rose $1.03 to settle at $108.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Tuesday is the last trading day for that contract. Oil for June delivery climbed 59 cents to settle at $108.28 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading for May contracts, heating oil lost 2.43 cents to settle at $3.1585 a gallon and gasoline futures fell 1.97 cents to settle at $3.2331 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 12.4 cents to settle at $4.262 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude fell 28 cents to settle at $121.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

BP closed Tuesday at $44.68, gaining $0.21, or 0.47 percent. Devon Energy ended the day at $86.97, rising $0.78, or 0.90. Apache Corp. closed at $121.99, jumping $1.11, or 0.92 percent. Exxon Mobil closed the session at $83.80, up $0.70, or 0.84 percent.

Apache (APA) (TSO) (EGY) (XCO) Closed Mixed as Oil, Gas Continue to

Apache Corp (NYSE:APA), Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO), Vaalco Energy (NYSE:EGY) and Exco Resources Inc. (NYSE:XCO) closed mixed on Friday even as oil prices continued to rise, along with gasoline prices, which have risen on national average for 24 days in a row.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery on Friday climbed $1.55 to settle at $109.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. At one point it rose to $110.10. In London, Brent crude added $1.45 to settle at $123.45 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Gasoline Friday rose 5.45 cents to settle at $3.2892 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 0.8 cent to settle at $4.204 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil increased 3.52 cents to settle at $3.2242 a gallon.

The average price of gasoline is now above $4 a gallon in five states, and it is about rise to that level in New York and Washington, D.C. over the weekend.

Exco Resources Inc. closed Friday at $20.66, falling $0.12, or 0.58 percent. Vaalco Energy closed at $6.88, gaining $0.06, or 0.88 percent. Tesoro Corporation ended the session at $26.54, gaining $0.41, or 1.57 percent. Apache closed at $122.40, down $0.01, or 0.01 percent.

Oasis (OAS) (BRY) (BEXP) (CPE) Closed Mixed as Oil, Gas Continue to

Oasis Petroleum (NYSE:OAS), Berry Petroleum (NYSE:BRY), Brigham Exploration (Nasdaq:BEXP) and Callon Petroleum (NYSE:CPE) closed mixed on Friday even as oil prices continued to rise, along with gasoline prices, which have risen on national average for 24 days in a row.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery on Friday climbed $1.55 to settle at $109.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. At one point it rose to $110.10. In London, Brent crude added $1.45 to settle at $123.45 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Gasoline Friday rose 5.45 cents to settle at $3.2892 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 0.8 cent to settle at $4.204 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil increased 3.52 cents to settle at $3.2242 a gallon.

The average price of gasoline is now above $4 a gallon in five states, and it is about rise to that level in New York and Washington, D.C. over the weekend.

Callon Petroleum closed Friday at $6.70, gaining $0.06, or 0.90 percent. Brigham Exploration closed at $33.58, falling $0.22, or 0.65 percent. Berry Petroleum ended the session at $51.06, up $1.27, or 2.55 percent. Oasis Petroleum closed at $30.49, up $0.68, or 2.28 percent.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH), Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL) and MDC Holdings (NYSE:MDC), Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY), PHLX (Nasdaq:HGX) Down as Homebuilding Remains Under Heavy Pressure

The market did little to inspire today, and the homebuilding sector continues to be punished, with KB Home (NYSE:KBH), Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL) and MDC Holdings (NYSE:MDC) and Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) all down, and the PHLX housing index (Nasdaq:HGX) falling.

Rising oil prices and tumbling bank shares dragged Wall Street lower on Friday, with stocks surrendering the previous session's hefty gains.

Brent crude prices hovered near $116 a barrel as Libyan security forces began a violent crackdown on protesters in Tripoli and clashed with rebels near a major oil terminal.

Data earlier in the week had raised expectations about Friday's employment report, lifting stocks to their biggest gains in three months on Thursday. But after Friday's report showed February job gains roughly in line with expectations, investors quickly turned their focus to rising oil prices and Libyan unrest.

"The (market) battle is: has the economy turned in a permanent way, or are higher oil prices going to slow everything down," said Bernie McGinn, president at McGinn Investment Management in Alexandria, Virginia.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:DJI) lost 147.66 points, or 1.20 percent, to 12,110.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SPX) fell 15.40 points, or 1.16 percent, to 1,315.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:IXIC) dropped 24.70 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,774.04.




Full Story

Brent Soars Above $110 as Libya Burns

Oil futures rallied above $110 a barrel on Wednesday, posting the biggest three-day percentage gain in a year, as the escalating violence in Libya could further reduce its production.

Between 300,000 and 400,000 barrels per day of Libyan output -- up to 25 percent -- has been shut down, according to Reuters calculations, marking the first cut in oil supplies related to the recent wave of anti-government unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.

After Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi vowed in a defiant speech on Tuesday that he would not step down, promising severe punishment to his detractors, analysts fear that long-lasting supply disruptions or even permanent damage lies ahead for the OPEC member's oil industry.



Rest of Story

Sell December 2011 U.S. Oil Futures JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Advises

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) recommends that investors should buy up Brent contracts and sell their West Texas Intermediate crude for December 2011, citing the expanding discount of New York futures to the London benchmark.

On Wednesday the disparity between West Texas to Brent grew to just over $4.00.

JPMorgan said, “Strong demand generates high margins, which in return leads to a ramp-up of refinery capacity. The stronger the increase in margins, the more likely it is that refiners will respond by a combined overkill. We think that is happening now.”

Brent contracts have outpaced New York contracts at an 18 percent growth rate to an 11 percent rate in 2010.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Acquires Forties Crude from Trafigura, Shell (NYSE:RDS-A), BP (NYSE:BP) Also Buy North Sea Grade

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) acquired Forties cargo from Trafigura Beheer BV, the third acquisition they made of the North Sea grade this week.

The latest acquisition by Morgan Stanley was for October 11 to October 14, paying a premium of 10 cents over Dated Brent, according to the financial institution.

For BP, their acquisition was from Royal Dutch Shell Plc (NYSE:RDS-A) for October 7 to October 9 loading. They paid close to 30 cents above Dated Brent, which was 19 cents below the cash cost of North Sea oil.

Shell purchased Forties from Total SA (NYSE:TOT) for October 4 to October 6, paying 20 cents above Dated Brent, according to the two companies.

The November settlement for Brent crude traded at $77.65 a barrel, while the December contract traded at $77.97, generating a contango of 32 cents between the two contracts. Both were in reference to the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Crude Oil Poised for First Annual Decline in Seven Years

With consumers tightening their wallets over economic concerns, crude oil will suffer its first annual decline in seven years, as supplies rise over decreasing demand.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, prices fell 99 cents for February delivery of crude oil, settling at $39.03 a barrel. Earlier in the day it fell below $38 a barrel. So far this year oil prices are down by 59 percent.

Crude-oil inventory fell last week by 1.45 million barrels, while on the other hand, according to analysts' estimates, gasoline stockpiles are rising, with projections of an extra 1.7 million barrels added for the week ending December 26.

Also increasing were heating oil, diesel, and other distillate fuel supplies, adding 1.5 million barrels to the inventory.

On London's ICE Futures Europe exchange, Brent crude oil fell by 40 cents to end the session at $40.15 a barrel.

I don't see anything changing the primary fundamental of declining oil demand changing any time soon, and that should be the key element to watch with oil, barring any geopolitical problems that may unfold.

Crude Drops Below $59 a Barrel as Demand Expectations Continue to Fall

Healthy assumptions that the International Energy Agency (IEA) will lower its forecast for oil demand in 2009, again drove crude oil prices down, as it settled at $59.33 barrel; it's lowest close since March 2007.

A number of factors, including the increasing strength of the U.S. dollar and the anemic equity markets continue to put downward pressure on energy prices.

So far the original 2008 forecast has been revised downward seven times this year, dropping usage by close to 1.3 million barrels a day.

Gasoline prices are mirroring the crude price drop, as regular gasonline across the U.S. dropped to an average of $2.22 a gallon, said the AAA.

On London's ICE Futures Europe exchange, Brent crude oil fell $3.37 for December delivery, settling at $55.71 a barrel.

Weak Demand Driving Oil Prices Down, Not Supply

While OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla el-Badri said the leaders of countries will definitely get together again if the recent daily cut of 1.5 million barrels in oil production doesn't curb plunging prices, it won't really matter, as it's not supply driving prices down, but demand.

Jittery consumers will continue to cut back on driving and traveling in response to the credit crisis and economic weakness.

"Until you see a change in economic sentiment, there won't be any sustained rallies in the oil market," said Kyle Cooper, an analyst at IAF Advisors in Houston. OPEC "can announce all the cuts they like and the market will ignore it."

Even if there is another meeting and decisions made to drop daily production more, it's doubtful all the countries would be willing or able to comply with the agreement anyway, which would do more harm to OPEC than help, as it would make it look even more desparate.

A number of OPEC countries are in great need for cash just like most countries around the world.

Gasoline usage dropped again last week, falling by 6.4 percent from the same period a year ago. Declining prices at the gas stations did nothing to jumpstart demand.

Crude oil closed down 49 cents today for December delivery, settling at $62.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In after-hour trading it rebounded some to $64.37 a barrel at about 4:00 EST.

On the London Ice Futures Europe exchange, Brent crude fell another $1.12, to settle at $60.29 a barrel.

Crude Oil Prices Continue to Fall off the Cliff: Now at 15-Month Low

In intraday trading crude oil fell of the cliff again, plunging by over $4 a barrel - a 15-month low. The continued fall in oil prices is completely tied to consumer demand, which has dropped as people cut back on spending on anything but essentials.

December delivery for crude oil dropped by $4.25 to $67.93 a barrel shortly after 11:00 a.m. EST today on the NYMEX. Oil futures hit a low of $67.50, the worst showing since June 27, 2007.

On London's ICE Futures Europe exchange, Brent crude has dropped by $3.40 for the December settlement, a 4.9 percent fall. It now stands at $66.32 a barrel. That's the lowest price since May 10, 2007.

For the week ending October 17, fuel demand in the U.S. averaged 18.7 million barrels a day, according to the report of the Energy Department released today. That's down 8.5 percent from the same period last year.

Average use of gasoline has also fallen, now averaging 8.8 million barrels a day for the last four weeks, down from last year by 4.3 percent.

With distillate fuel (heating oil, diesel) use also dropping significantly, we can see demand for oil will continue to fall for some time.

Even though the unprecedented special meeting by OPEC next month is expected to result in the cutback of 1 million barrels a day in production, that will do nothing to change the demand factor until the global economy recovers. That isn't going to happen any time soon.

Part of the result of all this will be less travel, which will affect not only oil companies, but airlines and shipping companies as well.

Oil inventories also continue to rise, as there was an increase of 3.18 millon barrels to 311.4 million barrels, the fourth time in a row.

Oil Plunges to 13-month Low on Demand Concerns

Concerns over the global economy continues to pummel oil prices, as it dropped to a 13-month low below $71 a barrel early Wednesday. Demand continues to shrink as consumers cut back on spending.

Most of this is based on the biggest oil consumer in the world, the U.S., where demand continues to diminish over the financial crisis.

November delivery for Brent North Sea crude fell to $70.70 a barrel, a $3.6 drop from Tuesday's close.

Delivery for November light sweet crude in New York also experienced a significant drop, falling as low as $74.93 a barrel, before recovering to $75.23 a barrel.

OPEC, which has taken the unusual step of meeting a month before their scheduled December meeting, has cut back its 2009 estimate for demand, citing the continuing economic climate in the U.S.

On Thursday there'll be an update on where U.S energy inventory stand, which will give a clearer picture on how the demand factor is playing out in the country.

Oil Prices Rise on Enthusiasm, not Fundamentals

Oil prices increased by $3.49 to end the session at $81.19 a barrel for November delivery, as leaders presented a unity to the world in an effort to shore up confidence in the global marketplace. Oil basically rose on that euphoria, rather than any change in fundamentals.

Brent North Sea crude in London gained close to light sweet crude in the U.S., as it increased by $3.37 a barrel to $77.46.

Even so, the slowing demand for oil hasn't changed, and nothing, other than the possibility that the emergency meeting by OPEC next month may result in resistance to downward price pressures, will stop the price of oil from continuing to fall. They would attempt to do that by lowering production levels.

If they were to do that, there would probably be significant international pressure for them to keep production levels close to where they are.

In other financial news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its highest one-day point gain in history, gold continues to fall, and the U.S. dollar fell against many major currencies, even though an unprecedented unlimited dollar fund auction will be held by the central banks of several nations.

Oil Prices Continue to Drop as U.S. Demand Slackens

While the price of oil fluctuated significantly today, by the end of the day it settled more toward the lower end, ending at $98.53 for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Prices continue to influence the amount Americans are willing to drive, affecting the overall demand.

Prices for the day went from a low of $95.95 a barrel to as high as $102.84.

For the week ending September 26, crude stock rose 1.5 percent by 4.3 million barrels, reaching 294.5 million barrels overall. That was close to three times what some analysts expected.

As far as gasoline inventories go, they rose to 900,000 barrels to 179.6 million barrels. Analysts were looking for a drop of 1 million to 3 million barrels.

Much of the discrepancy comes from the quick turnaround of U.S. refineries after the hurricane damage, along with the decreasing amount of miles consumers are traveling.

On the ICE Futures exchange in London, delivery for Novemeber Brent crude dropped by $2.84 to settle at $95.33 a barrel.

Light Sweet Crude Oil in big $6.01 Increase

Investors continued to move their money out of equities and put it in commodities, as oil was a beneficiary of the recent economic bad news which has hammered the financial companies. AIG was the main culprit today in moving commodities up.

October delivery for light sweet crude in New York surged by $6.01 dollars to finish the session at $97.16.

Across the pond Brent North Sea crude also moved upward by $5.62 to end at $94.84.

The U.S Department of Energy says that over the last month oil-based product use has fallen by 4.4 percent over the same time last year.

Recent bad weather has also caused a drop of 6.3 million barrels in the U.S reserves.

Even with the gain today, prices have dropped by $55 a barrel since the July 11 high of $147 a barrel.

Oil Drops to 5-month Low on Weak Demand, other Factors

Oil continues to plunge from its record high which reached $147 a barrel in July, as it dropped by over $2 a barrel, after settling the lowest on Thursday since April 4. Brent crude followed suit in London as it declined by over $2 a barrel as well, finishing at $103.95.

With China decreasing imports after the Olympics and consumers driving less, oil prices will probably continue to fall. Other factors include the ongoing storm season and the unknown decision by OPEC on what it will do going ahead. The weak U.S and world economy will continue to affect the price also.

The rise in value of the U.S. dollar will also continue to drive down oil prices.

With the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, (largest oil-import terminal in the U.S.) saying they started offloading oil tankers early Thursday morning, it's also thought it could help keep oil prices down because of the quick resumption of delivery.

Oil Fluctuates on Slowing Demand, Attack on Turkish Pipeline

Oil continued its recent swing as opposing news stories had it going up and down.

On the one hand the price surged to $121 a barrel when news of the attack on the Turkish-based Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, earlier in the day, by the PKK (separatist group Kurdistan Workers' Party), caused the upswing. It's estimated the pipeline could be closed for up to 15 days.

The other factor continues to be the cutting back on fuel use, as Americans continue to travel less during the summer months.

Residual effects of the drop in oil prices is also showing up at the gas pumps as overnight prices fell by a little over a penny to a national average of $3.849 a gallon; about 6 percent off it's highs last month of over $4 a gallon.

In afternoon trading, light, sweet crude rose by 21 cents to $188.79 a barrel on the NYMEX for September delivery, while Brent crude in London increased by 16 cents to $117.16 a barrel.

New York Oil Increases by $3, Largest Gain in Month

June delivery of crude oil increased $3.80 to settle at $116.32 a barrel on the Nymex Friday, it's first rise in four days, and the largest gain in a month.

For Brent crude, June delivery gained even more, as it grew by $4.06 percent to $114.56 on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. That's the largest increase since March 18.

Although some blamed the air strike by Turkey on Kurdish rebels in Iraq as part of the reason for the surge, it couldn't account for the whole gain. It's probably investors getting back into the market, taking advantage of lower prices.

"News of the Turkish air attacks turned us around overnight, but it doesn't explain a $3 gain," said Tom Bentz, a broker at BNP Paribas in New York. "More than any headline in particular, we are just seeing investors come in to take advantage of the dip in prices this week."

OPEC

This is one of the reasons OPEC continues to resist increasing production, as they primarily blame the increase in oil prices on speculators of oil futures.

"OPEC will not increase production of crude oil because what is happening now is not an increase in oil demand, but heavy speculation on oil futures," Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said today. "That's what's making oil prices so high."