Crude continues to glide down

Demand concerns weigh on crude prices

Crude oil prices ended lower at Nymex on Tuesday, 01 June 2010. Though prices had started the day lower, it inched up higher during the course of the day but the rise was short lived and prices fell again. Prices dropped due to demand concerns for energy across the globe.

On Tuesday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery closed at $72.58/barrel (lower by $1.39 or 1.9%). Last week, crude gained 5.6%.

For the month of May, crude shed 14%. It was the biggest monthly drop for crude since December 2008. For the month of April, crude rose 2.8%. For the first quarter of this year, crude rose by 5.5%. Year to date, crude is higher by 3.1%.

In the currency market on Tuesday, the euro shed almost 2% against the dollar and fell to its lowest levels in more than four years on concerns that the euro zone problems will slow down the overall recovery of that region.

Among economic reports for the day, it was seen that activity in U.S. manufacturing slowed a bit in May after hitting a six-year high in April but still showed considerable momentum. The Institute for Supply Management index fell to 59.7% in May from 60.4% in April. This was above the 59% reading expected. Readings over 50% in the ISM diffusion index indicate that more firms are growing than contracting. The ISM tracks the breadth of growth across firms, asking purchasing managers if business is better this month than last.

Separately, the Commerce Department in US showed that construction spending increased 2.7% in April, the biggest gain in nearly 10 years.

Fitch Ratings on last Friday downgraded Spain's debt to AA+ from AAA, citing concerns about the country's level of debt relative to its gross domestic product.

Among other energy products on Tuesday, reformulated gasoline for July delivery lost 4 cents, or 2.2%, to settle at $1.98 a gallon on Nymex.

Natural gas for July delivery declined 9 cents, or 2.1%, to $4.24 per million British thermal units.

Crude ended FY 2009 higher by 78%, the highest yearly gain since 1999. It reached a high of $82 earlier in October 2009 and hit a low of $33.98 on 12 February 2009. Crude prices had ended FY 2008 lower by 54%, the largest yearly loss since trading began at Nymex.

At the MCX, crude oil for June delivery closed higher by Rs 23 (0.66%) at Rs 3,487/barrel. Natural gas for June delivery closed at Rs 202.3, lower by Rs 1.5 (0.73%).