Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer
HOUSTON, Sept. 28 -- The weakening US dollar helped push front-month crude futures prices above $83/bbl in intraday trading Sept. 27 on the New York market.
The market also was boosted by reports of a tropical depression headed for Mexico, but the storm apparently missed Mexico's offshore production in the Bay of Campeche.
"The [latest] rally was sparked by lingering fears over Iran's nuclear ambitions, continued conflict in Nigeria, and the weakening US dollar," said analysts in the Houston office of Raymond James & Associates Inc.
"Apart from the pricings and repositioning at the end of the month and of the [third] quarter, there is very little convincing explanation for the sudden urge to make new highs," said Olivier Jakob, managing director of Petromatrix GMBH, Zug, Switzerland. "The dollar index remains at historic lows but volatility has decreased both on the dollar index and equities. Strong gains were seen [Sept. 27] across the commodity spectrum and it might very well be that fresh investments are coming in for the next quarter on an inflation theme."
Energy prices
The November contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes jumped $2.58 to $82.88/bbl on Sept. 27—the biggest 1-day gain since May 17 and the second-highest closing ever—after trading as high as $83.09/bbl during that session on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The December contract rose $2.65 to $81.51/bbl. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., was up $2.58 to $82.89/bbl. Heating oil for October delivery escalated by 6.95¢ to $2.25/gal on NYMEX. The October contract for reformulated blend stock for oxygenate blending (RBOB) gained 6.65¢ to $2.09/gal.
The November natural gas contract lost 12.7¢ to $6.92/MMbtu on NYMEX. On the US spot market, gas at Henry Hub, La., fell 21¢ to $6.26/MMbtu.
In London, the November IPE contract for North Sea Brent crude increased by $2.60 to $80.03/bbl. Gas oil for October gained $16 to $705.50/tonne.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of 12 reference crudes escalated by 92¢ to $76.03/bbl on Sept. 27.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected].
