Crude ends April up 25%, as OPEC supply level reaches two-year high
Investing.com | Apr 30, 2015 18:18 GMT
Investing.com -- Crude futures continued its upward swing on Thursday ending the month of April on a high note, as OPEC supply leaped to its highest level in more than two years and a lower than expected U.S. weekly buildup remained in focus.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for June delivery gained 0.92 or 1.56% to 59.50 a barrel, reaching its highest level since mid-December. Texas Light Sweet futures are now on pace for their fifth consecutive weekly gain, ending April up more than 25% as concerns of oversupply slightly ease.
On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for June delivery rose 0.82 or 1.25% to settle at 66.66. The spread between the U.S. and international benchmarks of crude stood at $7.16, slightly below Wednesday's level of $7.26.
Brent also closed the month up more than 18%, as OPEC oil supply reached its highest level since November, 2012. A survey by published by Reuters on Thursday found that output increased by 70,000 barrels per day to 31.04 million barrels. Increases in production in Iraq, Libya and Nigeria boosted OPEC supply levels.
Output in Saudi Arabia fell below record levels from March, but still remained above 10 million barrels per day.
WTI crude, meanwhile, continued its move toward $60, one day after the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly supply report that crude inventories increased by 1.9 million barrels for the week that ended April 24. The buildup was far below consensus estimates of a 3.3 million barrel increase.The build pushed up current U.S. crude inventories to 490.9 million barrels, the most in at least 80 years. A week earlier, crude inventories surged by 5.3 million barrels for the week that ended April 17 -- above forecasts of a 3.2 million build.
In addition, crude inventories at the Cushing Oil Hub in Oklahoma fell by 514,000 on the week, well below forecasts of a 400,000 gain. The decline marked the first draw at the largest crude storage facility in the U.S. since last November.
Energy investors turn their attention to Friday's weekly rig count from oil services firm Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI). Last week, the number of oil rigs nationwide fell by 31 to 703 -- its lowest level since 2010. The weekly rig count has declined for 20 consecutive weeks.
WTI Crude is still down more than 43% since last June when it spiked above $105 a barrel.
Russia stocks higher at close of trade; MICEX up 1.04%
Investing.com | Apr 30, 2015 16:45 GMT
Investing.com – Russia stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Power, Telecoms and Manufacturing sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Moscow, the MICEX added 1.04%.
The best performers of the session on the MICEX were FSK EES (MCX:FEES), which rose 10.08% or 0.0065 points to trade at 0.0710 at the close. Meanwhile, ANK Bashneft OAO Pref (MCX:BANE_p) added 7.29% or 116.0 points to end at 1708.0 and Mostotrest (MCX:MSTT) was up 6.44% or 5.50 points to 90.90 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Aeroflot (MCX:AFLT), which fell 3.42% or 1.35 points to trade at 38.15 at the close. SG mechel (MCX:MTLR) declined 2.49% or 1.64 points to end at 64.30 and Rosseti ao (MCX:RSTI) was down 2.38% or 0.0128 points to 0.5260.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Moscow Stock Exchange by 114 to 78 and 4 ended unchanged.
The Russian VIX, which measures the implied volatility of MICEX options, was down 2.52% to 35.530.
Gold for June delivery was down 2.41% or 29.20 to $1180.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 0.94% or 0.55 to hit $59.13 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 0.98% or 0.65 to trade at $66.48 a barrel.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.25% at 95.07.
Gold plunges more than $30 an ounce, amid strong U.S. jobs data
Investing.com | Apr 30, 2015 17:01 GMT
Investing.com -- Gold plunged more than $30 on Thursday dropping below $1,200 an ounce, as a raft of stronger than expected U.S. economic data fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve could be more hawkish than previously indicated on the timing of an interest rate hike.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for June delivery fell $30.10 or 2.49% to 1,179.90. Gold futures inched up to a session-high of $1,207.40 in European afternoon trading, before encountering a freefall just after the opening of U.S. markets. With the sell-off, gold reversed all of its gains from Monday when it soared more than 2.35% to 1,203.20.
During a volatile stretch over the last week, gold futures have ended the session up or down by at least 1.35% in four of the last seven trading days. On Thursday morning, the U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims for the week that ended April 25, fell by 34,000 to a 15-year low of 262,000. Analysts had forecasted a dip of 6,000 for the week. It marked the lowest level since April, 2000. The four-week average for initial claims declined by 1,250 to 283,750, slightly lower than its level a month before.
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee indicated in a rate statement that it wanted to see improvements in the labor market before it decides to raise rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
Separately, the Institute of Supply Management said its Chicago Purchasing Managers Index rose by 6.0 points for the month to 52.3, up from 46.3 in March. New orders soared 12.8 points to 55.1, its highest reading since January and largest monthly increase in more than 30 years. Analysts had expected the index to increase to 50.0 for the month of April.
U.S. personal spending, meanwhile, rose by 0.4% for the month slightly below expectations of a 0.5% gain. Analysts had forecast a 0.2% in personal spending in April.
The Fed removed all calendar references to the timing of an interest rate hike on Wednesday, opting instead to take a data-driven approach. Moving forward, the Fed said it will take into account labor market conditions, inflationary pressures and expectations of international financial developments when it decides on the timing of a rate increase.
While the Fed previously indicated that it could raise its benchmark Federal Funds Rate from the current level of zero to 0.25% in June, it became increasing likely that the U.S. Central Bank could delay the rate hike until September or December, following weeks of soft economic data since its FOMC meeting in March.
Gold, which is not attached to dividends or interest rates, struggles to compete with high-yield bearing assets in periods of rising interest rates.
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery plummeted 0.674 or 4.04% to 16.032 .
Copper for July delivery, meanwhile, rose 0.077 or 2.76% to 2.876 a pound.
