Commodity Blog

Posts Tagged ‘gasoline’

Coffee may rise 21 percent in two months on lack of high quality supplies. The output in Columbia, the second largest grower in the world, fell to the lowest in 33 years because of adverse weather. Analysts predict that global demand will be about 131 million bags, while world production will be around 124 million bags in 2010. May futures for Arabica-coffee delivery slid $0.0515 (3.8 percent) to $1.319 per pound today in New York.

Corn and soybean prices advance with rising gasoline price, boosting the attractiveness of fuels produced from grain and oilseeds. Gasoline prices reached the highest level in five weeks, increasing demand for corn-based ethanol and biodiesel made from soybeans. May futures for corn delivery gained $0.11 (3 percent) to $3.8275 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. May futures for soybean delivery rose $0.145 (1.5 percent) to $9.69 per bushel.

Wheat dropped to the weekly low on expectation that U.S. President’s plan to limit risk-taking by banks will cut investment in commodities, including U.S. grain. Barack Obama may announce further details of his plan to restrict proprietary trading or investing in hedge funds and private-equity funds. March futures for wheat delivery decreased $0.045 (1 percent) to $4.8925 per bushel as of 10:08 on CBoT.

Crude oil and gasoline tumbled to the lowest level in five weeks after the report that stockpiles of the motor fuel climbed to a 22-month high. Demand for fuel fell 2 percent compared to the previous year in the four weeks ended January 22nd. Gasoline consumption dropped 0.4 percent from the previous week. Refineries worked at 78.5 percent of capacity. March delivery for crude oil slid $1.05 (1.4 percent) to $73.66 per barrel by the 14:30 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude oil tumbled to the lowest in a month in New York on speculation that China will raise interest rates and as equities slid after U.S. President proposed restrictions on risk-taking at financial institutions. Oil also slid this week as the dollar rose, curbing the demand for commodities as an inflation hedge and investor confidence decreased on declines in equity markets.

Fuel consumption in the U.S. fell 1.8 percent in the past four weeks compared to a previous year. Refineries ran at 78.4 percent of capacity in the U.S. last week, the lowest rate since 1989, barring the Atlantic hurricane season. Gasoline stockpiles rose 3.95 million barrels to 227.4 million last week, the record level since March 2008.

March delivery for crude oil dropped $1.17 (1.5 percent) to $74.91 per barrel by 10:15 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Some analysts think that there shouldn’t be any significant changes in the market in the next few days after decline. But there is probability that crude oil may decline next week as U.S. fuel consumption falls and refineries idle units.

Crude oil advanced to more than $77 per barrel to the highest in a year in New York after a report that U.S. gasoline stockpiles fell as refineries idled units for maintenance. Refineries operations dropped to 80.9 percent of capacity, the lowest since April. As the result, inventories of the motor fuel slumped to 5.23 million barrels last week and gasoline output slid 10 percent.

Refiners usually idle units for repairs and upgrades in October, when demand for gasoline is lower, and before heating-oil use increases. Yet 4.1 percentage point drop in refinery utilization rates last week was the biggest since September 2008. The report was definitely bullish for the oil products.

Another reason for the oil prices increase is global economic recovery. As example of the recovery can be considered the fact that the increase for the cost of living in the U.S. was slower in September.

November delivery for crude oil futures advanced $1.73 (2.3 percent) to $76.91 per barrel by 13:05 on NYMEX. November settlement for Brent crude oil gained $1.04 (1.4 percent) to $74.14 per barrel on ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Oil and gasoline gained today with signs of increasing industrial activity. Good economic prospects cause rebound of fuel demand leading to increased oil and gasoline prices. September delivery for crude oil gained $2.11 (3 percent) to $71.56 per barrel by 11:08 on NYMEX. September delivery for gasoline raised $0.0541 (2.7 percent) to $2.0667 per gallon in New York.

Copper jumped more than 4 percent to 10-month high. As U.S. and Chinese manufacturing are experiencing recovery speculation are rising on increasing demand for industrial materials. September delivery for copper went up $0.1095 (4.2 percent) to $2.733 per pound as of 11:40 on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division.

Gold rises to the highest in almost two months as dollar weakens today. Tendency for gold to rise when dollar falls causes gold to gain as dollar weakens and demand for the metal as alternative investment increases. December delivery for gold raised $7 (0.7 percent) to $962.80 per ounce at 12:51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division.

Copper went up in New York today. Demand for metals used in construction and automobiles rises because of recovering economies making copper go up in New York and London. September futures for copper gained $0.0045 (0.2 percent) to $2.4735/pound at 8:28 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold may go up as a declining dollar rises demand for the metal as an alternative investment. The dollar fell 1.7 percent against the single European currency while gold futures gained 2.4 percent this month. August futures for gold gained $1.60 (0.2 percent) to $950.40/ounce on NYMEX by 8:32.

Crude oil and gasoline rises today as earnings cause contraction to stop. Earnings at Caterpillar Inc. was better than expected potentially making contraction to stop in the world’s biggest fuel-consuming country resulting in rise of crude oil rose and gasoline. Futures reached $65.53, the highest since July 6th. Crude oil for August delivery gained $0.86 (1.3 percent), to $64.84/barrel as of 10:23 on NYMEX.

Friday’s one-day gain of $10.75 for crude oil was the biggest daily gain in history, and Thursday’s gain was the second biggest. This has pushed gasoline prices up over $4.00 gallon.

Last year at this time crude oil was around $66.00 barrel. Fridays close was a new record and put oil above $139.00 barrel.

What does this mean for Forex traders….how commodity prices affect currencies.