The energy sector is off to a higher start, supported by a rally in crude oil contracts as conflict in Israel ratchets up the geopolitical risk premium.Futures tied to the major equity indices are lower amid rising geopolitical tensions which is putting pressure on a market dealing with surging inflation and interest rates.
WTI and Brent crude oil futures are kicking off the week sharply higher, recovering some of last week’s losses fueled by this weekend’s attack by Hamas on Israeli towns. Analysts said the situation now brings discussion around whether or not other nations including Saudi Arabia and Iran will be drawn into the conflict. According to Reuters, global hedge fund managers were selling U.S. stocks sensitive to commodities at an accelerated pace in the week ending October 6, according to a Goldman Sachs note to clients, just before the price of oil jumped this morning. Hedge funds had, as of Friday, ramped up selling to the fastest pace since early June in shares of U.S. companies that manufacture chemicals, building materials, and paper products, said the note from Goldman Sachs' prime brokerage.
Natural gas futures are extending last week’s gains amid today’s rally in crude oil and as preliminary estimates for the EIA weekly storage data had a build of +83 to +93 Bcf vs 5-yr avg of +93 Bcf.
Roughly 2,400 people have died, and many more are trapped in...
Roughly 2,400 people have died, and many more are trapped in western Afghanistan after a pair of 6.3 magnitude earthquakes rocked Asia's poorest nation Sunday. The city of Herat, the nation's third-largest with over 600,000 residents, was the worst affected, with the quake's epicenter just 25 miles northwest of the provincial hub. READ MORE
Exxon’s shale boss in Texas jail on sexual assault charge
Exxon Mobil Corp.’s head of shale remained in a Texas jail...
Exxon Mobil Corp.’s head of shale remained in a Texas jail Sunday after he was arrested for sexual assault at a hotel near Houston last week, police said.
David Scott, 49, a senior vice president of Exxon’s upstream shale business, was arrested early Thursday at a La Quinta Inn & Suites hotel in Magnolia, Texas, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said, just north of company headquarters.
Scott faces a second-degree felony assault charge and posted a $30,000 bond, according to jail records. Local authorities said Scott remained behind bars Sunday because he has not yet surrendered his Australian passport to probation officers.
Convictions on such felonies in Texas carry a minimum of two years and up to 20 years in prison.
Israel Orders ‘Complete Siege’ of Gaza as Troops Battle to Secure Border Areas
Israel’s defense minister said the authorities would block deliveries of food, water, and fuel into...
Israel’s defense minister said the authorities would block deliveries of food, water, and fuel into the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops were still fighting Palestinian militants in border areas, two days after an invasion that has left hundreds dead.
Oil Traders Wary as Gasoline Demand Shows Signs of Cracking
One of the oil market’s most controversial data points of recent...
One of the oil market’s most controversial data points of recent years — a measure of how much gasoline Americans consume — is pointing to a crash in demand that’s concerning traders the world over.
On Wednesday last week, the market’s most-watched measure for consumption of fuel in the US tumbled to the lowest for the time of year in a quarter of a century. Since the summer’s peak, it points to a decline of 1 million barrels a day. New York-traded futures, the global benchmark, plunged by 6.9%, one of several catalysts for oil’s biggest one-day rout in a year that day. READ MORE
