The number of job openings in the US dropped to a nearly two-year low in March, and layoffs increased to their highest point since December 2020, the Labor Department revealed yesterday. In this “bad news is good news” economic environment, the Fed will be pleased that the boiling-hot labor market is cooling off. It means less pressure on inflation and more justification to pause hiking rates.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a 3.939 million barrel draw on crude...
The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a 3.939 million barrel draw on crude inventories. The total number of barrels of crude oil gained so far this year is still more than 34 million barrels.
This week, SPR inventory dropped for the fifth week in a row, losing 2 million barrels for the week to reach 364.9 million barrels—the lowest amount of crude oil in the SPR since October 1983.
Distillate inventories fell by 1 million barrels after increasing by 1.693 million barrels in the week prior.
Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, increased by 700,000 barrels—after rising by 465,000 barrels last week.
Crude oil prices plunged nearly 5% to a five-week low in Tuesday’s...
Crude oil prices plunged nearly 5% to a five-week low in Tuesday’s trading as concerns about the economy brought prices down in the U.S. as politicians debated how to avoid a debt default.
West Texas Intermediate fell $4 a barrel or 5.3% and ended the day at $71.66 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The global benchmark, Brent crude, dropped $3.99 or 5% and settled at $75.32 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
It was the lowest close for WTI and Brent since March 24 and also was their biggest one-day percentage drop since early January.
Natural gas closed up one cent for a 0.23% gain to $2.22.
Major U.S. stock indexes close down over 1% ahead of Fed decision
U.S. stocks ended well off session lows Tuesday, but still suffered...
U.S. stocks ended well off session lows Tuesday, but still suffered sharp losses.
A slump for regional banks, signaling that JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s agreement to purchase the remains of failed First Republic Bank didn't quell worries over the sector, was cited as the main driver of the slump. But investors were also weighing a warning from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that the U.S. could be in danger of default as early as June 1 if there's no deal to raise the debt limit.
That all combined with recession fears to send the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by around 615 points at its session low. The blue-chip gauge ended the day with a loss of just shy of 370 points, or 1.1%, according to preliminary figures. The S&P 500 declined 1.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite gave up 1.1%.
The energy sector is off to a lower start, pressured by weakness in the...
The energy sector is off to a lower start, pressured by weakness in the underlying commodities and in the major equity futures which inched lower this morning as investors prepared for the Fed’s May policy meeting to kick off.
WTI and Brent crude oil inched lower this morning, faltering in early trading on weak economic data from China and expectations of interest rate hikes from the Fed and ECB this week. Traders also noted a cloudy economic outlook in other parts of the world also weighing on prices. Manufacturing activity in China fell unexpectedly in April, the first contraction in the manufacturing purchasing managers' index since December. The Fed is expected to increase interest rates by another 25 basis points tomorrow while the ECB is also expected to raise rates at its regular policy meeting on Thursday. Traders will be looking to the next round of inventory reports as the next catalyst with recent polls showing analysts expect crude stocks to have fallen for a third consecutive week.
