Benchmark U.S. crude oilfor October delivery rose $2to $83.63 a barrel Thursday. Brent crude for October delivery rose $1to $86.86 a barrel.
Wholesale gasolinefor September delivery fell 4 centsto $2.77 a gallon. September heating oilrose 4 centsto $3.14 a gallon. October natural gasfell 3 centsto $2.77 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Dow ends 170 points lower Thursday, stocks book losses for August
The Nasdaq closed higher for a fifth straight session on Thursday,...
The Nasdaq closed higher for a fifth straight session on Thursday, but the major U.S. equity indexes still ended August with losses.The Dow Jones Industrial AverageDJIA shed about 169 points on Thursday, or 0.5%, ending near 34,721. The S&P 500 IndexSPX fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP rose 0.1%.
Stocks enjoyed a bounce in the final week of August but still closed out the month in the red, with the Dow off 2.4%, the S&P 500 1.8% lower and the Nasdaq down 2.2%. The monthly jobs report due Friday is expected to show a slowdown in hiring, but the unemployment rate is anticipated to remain low at 3.5%, near the lows of the late 1960s, worrying investors about the potential need for more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve to keep inflation on the decline. Despite volatility in long-term rates in August, the Nasdaq was up 34.1% this year, its best first eight months to a year since 2003.
The energy sector is off to a broadly higher start, supported by strength in the underlying commodities and in the major equity futures. U.S. stock index futures are set to open higher after data showed the PCE price index, considered to be the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, climbed 3.3% in July on an annual basis in line with estimates of a 3.3% rise. Meanwhile, the core PCE price index rose 4.2% in July on an annual basis, also meeting expectations.
WTI and Brent crude oil futures are trading higher for the sixth-straight session boosted by a large drawdown in U.S. crude inventories and production cuts by OPEC+, but a slowdown in China's manufacturing activity limited gains.China's manufacturing activity shrank again in August as the official PMI rose to 49.7 from 49.3 in July, but still remained below the 50-point level.
Natural gas futures are moving higher for the second-consecutive sessionas the NOAA's 6-10 day outlook shows above-normal temps from the eastern Rockies to the East Coast, and extending into the Four Corners region.
Farmers' Almanac just dropped its winter 2023 predictions
The Farmer's Almanac just released its weather predictions for winter 2023-2024, and you better...
The Farmer's Almanac just released its weather predictions for winter 2023-2024, and you better get out our heaviest winter coats.
Great news for lovers of snow and all things winter - and not so good for the other half of that lot. Here's what the Farmer's Almanac had to say about this upcoming winter - and if last year's Farmer's Almanac report taught us anything, it's that they're pretty darn accurate.