The energy sector is off to a mixed to lower start, looking past strength in the underlying commodities while the major equity futures extend declines. U.S. stock index futures fell as a jump in U.S. bonds yields, spurred partly by Fitch's downgrade of U.S. long-term credit rating, pressured rate-sensitive shares and set Wall Street up for another selloff.
WTI and Brent crude oil futures have rebounded slightly in early trading after dropping sharply from more than three-month highs in the previous session as concerns around supply tightness offset the impact on sentiment of a U.S. government credit downgrade. Crude is supported by supply concerns because of output cuts by OPEC+ which a meeting today is expected to keep in place, further eroding inventories.
Natural gas futures are trading higher, recovering from yesterday’s selloff amid forecasts for hotter-than-normal weather continuing through mid-August, especially in Texas.
Completed plant maintenance drives US LNG export rebound
US liquefied natural gas exports increased by 9% to 8.2 million short tons in July as LNG facilities...
US liquefied natural gas exports increased by 9% to 8.2 million short tons in July as LNG facilities emerged from planned maintenance, according to preliminary Refinitiv Eikon data. Europe was once again the top buyer with a 43% share, while shipments to Asia rose to 2.57 million short tons, the highest in 18 months.
Occidental Petroleum profit slumps 83% on lower energy prices
Occidental Petroleum Corp on Wednesday reported an 83% slump...
Occidental Petroleum Corp on Wednesday reported an 83% slump in second-quarter profit, hit by lower oil and gas prices.
The company said the average realized price for oil fell to $73.59 per barrel for the April-June quarter from last year's $107.72 per barrel.
Occidental, one of the largest oil and gas producers in the U.S., said net income attributable to common stockholders stood at $605 million, or $0.63 per share, for the three months ended June 30, compared with $3.55 billion, or $3.47 per share, a year ago.
Saudis to extend oil-production cutback by further month
(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will extend a voluntary oil output cut of one million barrels...
(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will extend a voluntary oil output cut of one million barrels per day for another month to include September, the state news agency SPA said on Thursday.
The agency cited an official source at the Ministry of Energy as saying the cut can be "extended, or extended and deepened".
The kingdom's production for September will be approximately 9 million barrels per day (bpd), the source said.
S&P futures vs fair value: -17.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -100.00. The S&P 500 futures...
S&P futures vs fair value: -17.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -100.00.
The S&P 500 futures are down 17 points and are trading 0.3% below fair value. The Nasdaq 100 futures are down 100 points and are trading 0.6% below fair value. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 99 points and are trading 0.2% below fair value.
Productivity rose 3.7% in the preliminary Q2 reading (Brieing.com consensus 1.7%) following a 2.1% decline in the prior reading. Unit labor costs rose 1.6% in the preliminary Q2 reading (Briefing.com consensus 2.7%) following a 4.2% increase in the prior reading.
Weekly initial jobless claims totaled 227,000 (Briefing.com consensus 225,000) following last week's count of 221,000. Continuing claims came in at 1.7 million following last week's revised total of 1.679 million (from 1.690 million).
