Oil prices fell below $75 a barrel on Monday as a rising dollar sent investors fleeing from risk and global markets began to speculate on a specific future date when the United States would raise its interest rates.
Oil prices dropped to $75 a barrel on Monday reacting to a rising dollar and tracking weak European equities as investors became more risk averse.
Oil prices fell nearly $1 to below $76 a barrel on Friday, pressured by a stronger dollar which outweighed better-than-expected U.S. jobs data.
No major new refineries have been built in the United States since the 1970s, but that does not mean that U.S. refinery capacity has not grown. Refiners can increase capacity at existing sites by modifying equipment to increase product flow and by adding new distillation units. Consequently, though U.S. crude oil distillation capacity declined in the early 1980s, it has risen since the mid-1990s (Figure 1) due to these kinds of investments. From 1997 to 2009, total U.S. refining capacity increas...
Oil climbed toward $78 a barrel on Tuesday, adding to the previous session's advance, as concern eased that Dubai's debt problems would set back the global economic recovery.
Oil steadied at above $77 a barrel on Tuesday, after a rebound of 1.6 percent in the previous session, as Dubai debt default fears eased and investors cast about for fresh clues to the pace of global economic recovery.
Oil prices recovered a little on Monday, rising above $76 a barrel as the dollar weakened, but investors kept a wary eye on debt-laden Dubai and its impact on the global economy.
Oil prices steadied at $76 a barrel on Monday, shedding most of the session's early gains, as worries about Dubai's debt crisis and its impact on the world economic recovery returned to haunt investors.
COMEX December gold GCZ9 settled down $12.80, or 1.1 percent, at $1,174.20 an ounce on the COMEX division of NYMEX.
Oil prices sank to six-week lows below $75 a barrel on Friday as fears that Dubai could default convulsed financial markets and the dollar rose as investors moved into safer assets.
Oil prices sank to a six-week low below $73 a barrel on Friday as fears of debt default in Dubai convulsed financial markets and the dollar rose as investors moved into safer assets.
Oil prices extended their decline from the previous day to a six-week low of below $74 a barrel on Friday, as nervous investors, roiled by debt problems in Dubai, pared positions and shifted to safe-haven assets.
Oil edged lower toward $77 a barrel on Friday, extending a 2 percent drop in the previous session and pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar.
Capacity to produce fuel ethanol from corn nearly tripled between January 2006 and January 2009. However, over the past 18 months, a combination of surplus production capacity, the decline of gasoline prices from their mid-2008 peak level, and high corn prices that boosted producers' input costs have resulted in a sharp decline in ethanol margins. The combination of economic pressures on capacity led some producers to idle plants, and in some cases, file for bankruptcy.
Future supply shortages could drive up contracts for oil use in several years' time, as they mimic a market for near-term delivery that has more than doubled since the start of the year.
Gold hit a fresh record high near $1,150 an ounce on Wednesday, boosting precious metals across the board, as a dip in the dollar index added to momentum buying as prices broke through key technical resistance levels.
Oil prices clawed back some of last week's 1.4 percent losses on Monday and rose a dollar to above $77 a barrel, as a weaker U.S. dollar and improved sentiments over the economic outlook encouraged traders to push up crude prices.
The U.S. imported slightly more than 1 million barrels of crude oil per day from Saudi Arabia during the first 8 months of 2009. Despite a decline of more than 33 percent compared to the same period in 2008, Saudi Arabia was still the third largest source of U.S. crude oil imports during the first 8 months of this year, according toEIA import data.
Oil dipped below $79 a barrel on Thursday as an expected hike in U.S. crude stocks and a rise in the dollar from 15-month lows outweighed an IEA report that said global oil demand will return to growth this quarter.
Gold rose above $1,120 an ounce to a fresh record high on Thursday, the U.S. dollar hovered near 15-month lows while shares weakened, particularly in emerging markets. Gold prices pushed to the record high in part because of dollar weakness.
Oil held steady above $79 a barrel on Thursday as the dollar held near 15-month lows against a basket of currencies, while investors waited for U.S. government oil data for direction before taking more positions.
Oil prices were steady above $79 a barrel on Thursday, as the market awaits U.S. government oil inventory data and watches the dollar, which is flirting with 15-month lows against a basket of currencies.
Oil prices steadied on Wednesday as the dollar rebounded from 15-month lows, countering data showing strong demand growth from No. 2 consumer China.
Oil rose toward $80 on Wednesday, responding to a 15 month low in the dollar and robust Chinese demand growth and factory output.
Oil firmed above $79 on Wednesday as a 15 month low in the dollar diverted investors' focus from fundamentals, with weekly U.S. government inventory data being delayed by one day to Thursday.
Gold shot to a record high on Wednesday as the dollar slipped to its lowest in more than a year and analysts predict further gains for the precious metal on the U.S. unit's persistent weakness.
Oil eased below $79 a barrel on Wednesday, as mildly bearish October loans data from China offset signs of robust industrial output and retail sales from the world's second-largest energy consumer.
Oil rose above $79 a barrel on Wednesday, after dipping a day earlier, as signs of robust economic growth in China offset mildly bearish U.S. industry data showing surprise builds in crude and distillate stockpiles.
Oil prices rose on Tuesday to above $80 a barrel after a late-season hurricane disrupted oil and gas output in the Gulf of Mexico and the dollar stayed close to a 15-month low.
Oil prices fell slightly on Tuesday but held above $79 a barrel as the dollar weakened, gold stayed strong and a late-season hurricane subsided in the Gulf of Mexico.
