Crude prices glide up

Prices move higher in tandem with higher US equities

Crude oil prices ended substantially higher on Tuesday, 15 June 2010 at Nymex. Prices were buoyed by weak dollar and strong economic data at Wall Street. Crude also moved higher in tandem with higher US equities.



On Tuesday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery closed at $76.94/barrel (higher by $1.82 or 2.4%). Last week, prices gained 3.1%.

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 8.7%.

Among global economic data scheduled for the day, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said its index of manufacturing conditions improved in June. Meanwhile, U.S. import prices fell in May, easing concerns about inflation. All these reports also boosted overall sentiments.

In the currency market on Tuesday, the dollar index, which weighs the strength of dollar against a basket of six other currencies fell by almost 0.7%. On the other hand, the euro gained 1% against the dollar.

On Tuesday, among other energy related products, reformulated gasoline for July delivery added 5 cents, or 2.2%, to $2.12 a gallon, reclaiming closing levels reached in mid-May.

On Tuesday, natural-gas futures continued to rally on expectations of more natural-gas-derived power supply demands due to the summer months and fears the hurricane season could disrupt those supplies. Natural-gas futures settled at a fresh three-month high. July natural gas added 18 cents, or 3.7%, to end at $5.18 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 70 (2%) at Rs 3,556/barrel. Natural gas for June delivery closed at Rs 237.5, higher by Rs 6.3 (2.7%)