Middle East Marshals Oil Rally
A confluence of bullish news kept the burners on high in
the oil patch Thursday. In a replay of events preceding the Persian Gulf War nearly 10 years ago that spiked oil to $40 a barrel, Kuwait said it had mobilized part of its army after an
inflammatory speech by Iraqi’s President Saddam Hussein. Saudi Arabia also said
it had cut oil deliveries to key European customers.
September crude oil
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closed at a contract record, rallying .0274 to .8628. Unleaded gasoline
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rose more on a percentage basis, 5%, playing catch up on word of a refining
stoppage at a Louisiana facility.
Natural gas, from the Momentum-5
List, closed back near contract highs, up .049 at 4.468.
Back-to-back earnings victories by two of the biggest
names in tech have failed to let the tech bull out of the pen and disappointing
earnings from retailers are keeping the lid on blue chips. This left stock index
futures closing down.
NASDAQ 100 futures
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lost 6.70 to 1474.30 while Dow futures
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10,972.0.
Dollar index futures
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from a ten-day up-move, backing off as global investors took notice of
strengthening European equities. European stocks have rallied for the past five days,
led higher by telecom stocks. Investors must sell
dollars and buy euros or European currencies in order to participate in
continental equity rallies. Dollar index futures made good on a Turtle Soup Plus One Buy
setup, a tip-off that a swing reversal could be in store. The September
contract
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Euro FX futures
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near-contract lows to close .00900 higher at .90970 and Swiss francs
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followed suit, adding .0043 to .5885. Traders dumped Japanese yen
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of a Bank of Japan meeting amid speculation of government interference in the
independent entity. The September contract fell .0089 on the negative sentiment
to .9248.