Increasingly divided Fed expected to settle on quarter-point rate cut this week
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is likely to muster...
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is likely to muster a slim majority of his colleagues to support a 25-basis-point cut in interest rates on Wednesday, fueled by growing concern about the health of the economy, experts say. But given the turmoil around the central bank and uncertainty about the direction of inflation and the job market, the bigger question regarding the meeting is what happens next.
Powell is likely to face a level of internal opposition he has never seen before. Some of his colleagues have signaled they want a larger rate cut because of the weaker labor market. Others may opt for no change in rates because of recent gnarly inflation readings. It’s possible both sides will formally dissent.
Oklahoma lost one rig, now with 42 rigs running. The...
Oklahoma lost one rig, now with 42 rigs running. The rig count in the Permian Basin was unchanged this week, the latest count Friday by Baker Hughes shows, with 254 rigs active in the region. A year ago, 306 rigs were active in the region.
Nationally, the combinedoil and gas rig count is up two from last week at 539 rigs. A year ago, 590 rigs were active. The count shows that 416 rigs were drilling for oil,up two from the previous week, and 118 are drilling for natural gas, unchanged from the previous week. The count also shows five miscellaneous rigs, unchanged from the previous week.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in August of 2020 at 244.
The regional benchmark Plains-West Texas Intermediate Posting ended Friday at $59.17 per barrel, up 82 cents from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $62.69 per barrel, up 82 cents from the previous week.
Big Tech lifts Nasdaq to record close, while Dow ends 270 points lower
The U.S. stock market closed mixed Friday, with the technology-heavy...
The U.S. stock market closed mixed Friday, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite booking a fresh record high.
The Nasdaq rose 98.03 points, or 0.4%, to end at 22,141.10.
The S&P 500 slipped 3.18 points, or less than 0.1%, to finish at 6,584.29.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 273.78 points, or 0.6%, to close at 45,834.22.
Friday's rally in Big Tech stocks added to the tech sector’s strong rise this week within the S&P 500. All three major equity benchmarks ended the session with weekly gains, with investors anticipating that the Federal Reserve will decide next week to lower interest rates.
The Dow booked a weekly increase of 1%, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.6% and the Nasdaq climbed 2%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each finished Friday with back-to-back weekly gains, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 71...
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 71 Bcf injection into the nation’s natural gas storage for the week ending Sept. 5, meeting market expectations and sending commodity prices lower.
According to the EIA’s weekly report, working natural gas in storage was about 3.343 Tcf as of Sept. Stocks were 38 Bcf less than last year at the same time and 188 Bcf above the five-year average of 3.155 Tcf.
The market consensus forecast was a 69 Bcf injection. The front-month futures price at the Henry Hub hit $3.15/MMBtu on Sept. 9 before retreating. Following the EIA’s report release on Sept. 11, prices fell 9.5 cents, closing at $2.93/MMBtu.
A combination of mild weather and scheduled maintenance work on Gulf Coast gas transport pipelines led to the bearish market for the week, according to analysts.