SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Oil prices fell below $56 Monday and gasoline futures plunged to a new low as Japan joined a number of European nations in recession and provided even more evidence of a broad deterioration in demand for energy.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery dropped $2.11 to settle at $55.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline futures fell 5 percent, or 6.45 cents to $1.1746 a gallon after earlier touching a 52-week low of $1.168.
"This is just a continuation of the weak demand theme in energy," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultants Ritterbusch and Associates.
Japan, the world's second-largest economy, said it slid into a recession for the first time since 2001 after gross domestic product contracted at an annual pace of 0.4 percent in the third quarter ... [Read More]
Russian Stocks Fall, Led by Rosneft, Lukoil; PIK Group Plunges
By William Mauldin
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Russia's Micex Index dropped for a fourth day as crude oil traded near a 21-month low and brokers cut their recommendations on Russian stocks.
OAO Rosneft and OAO Lukoil, Russia's biggest oil producers, led the slump with declines of more than 5 percent each. PIK Group, a Moscow-focused apartment builder, tumbled the most ever in London after JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its recommendation on the Moscow-focused apartment builder to ``underweight'' on concern it won't be able to repay debt.
Evraz Group SA tumbled to a record low after it reported nine-month financial results and had its recommendation cut at Citigroup Inc. and Moscow-based Troika Dialog.
The 30-stock Micex sank 5.3 percent to 560.86, the lowest this month. Both the Micex and the RTS halted trading for an hour because ... [Read More]
Crude Oil Rises in New York After U.S. Industrial Output Climbs
By Christian Schmollinger
Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose from a 21-month low after U.S. industrial production gained, increasing expectations that fuel demand may improve in the world's largest consumer.
U.S. output at factories, mines and utilities rose 1.3 percent in October, more than forecast, as refineries and oil rigs returned to service after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, the Federal Reserve said yesterday. Industrial plants used 76.4 percent of capacity, an increase from 75.5 percent in September.
``We're not getting much joy out of the U.S., although it wasn't below what the market was expecting so prices might be getting some support from that,'' said Mark Pervan, a senior commodity strategist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Melbourne. ``The industrial production numbers were better than expected but still lo... [Read More]
Russian Stocks Decline as Crude Oil Trades Near a 21-Month Low
By William Mauldin
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Russia's Micex Index dropped for a fourth day, led by OAO Rosneft, as crude oil futures traded near a 21-month low.
The 30-stock Micex sank 0.6 percent to 588.28 at 11:04 a.m. in Moscow after declining 18 percent last week. The dollar- denominated RTS Index, dominated by oil and gas producers, fell 1.6 percent to 633.71 today.
Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, fell 1.83 rubles, or 2 percent, to 90.4 rubles on the Micex Stock Exchange. OAO Gazprom, the world's biggest natural-gas producer, dropped 2.8 percent to 104.76 rubles. Crude oil for December delivery fell 68 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $56.36 a barrel in New York after dropping 2.1 percent on Nov. 14.
To contact the reporter on this story: William Mauldin in Moscow at [Read More]
Oil Falls to 21-Month Low as Global Slowdown Cuts Fuel Demand
By Mark Shenk
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell to the lowest close since January 2007 as Japan entered its first recession since 2001 and China’s largest oil producer said demand dropped “sharply.”
Japan, the world’s third-biggest oil-consuming country, contracted 0.4 percent in the third quarter, official figures today showed. China National Petroleum Corp., the nation’s biggest producer, said Nov. 15 that demand has fallen since September because of credit-market turmoil.
“The overwhelming trend is that global demand is down sharply, led by the drop in the U.S.,” said Antoine Halff, head of energy research at Newedge USA LLC in New York. “It’s now becoming clear that the Chinese economy is being hit harder than expected by what is happening in the U.S. I don’t think we’ve fully factored in the slowdown in China.”
