Gushing Past The Barrier
Crude-oil gushed higher at the midday trading
session, boosted by bullish supply data.
April crude-oil futures
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settling at $24.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a gain of .02
cents. April heating oil
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cents a gallon and then pulled back to 66.57 cents a gallon, and April
unleaded gasoline
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April Natural gas
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thermal units.
Stock data from the American Petroleum Institute, which measures oil supply of
its members, showed distillate stocks fell 2.86 million barrels in the week
ending March 15 and gasoline stocks dropped 3.757 million barrel. However, the
latter figure looked less bullish after the API revised last week’s gasoline
stocks upward.
Crude stocks showed a 2.197-million-barrel inventory level.
The threat of a U.S. military attack on Iraq is still making investors wary,
even though Saudi Arabia has said The Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries would make up for any lost Iraqi crude production if necessary.
Technology shares led the stock market lower
Wednesday after an analyst cut earnings and revenue estimates on Intel.
In late-afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 121 to
10514 after gaining 57.50 on Tuesday. The June Dow Jones Industrial Average
futures
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The June Nasdaq 100 futures
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traded in a range between 1454.000 to 1497.000. The NDM2 closed at 1455.000 down
55.500.
The June S&P 500 futures
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S&Ps opened at 1174.10, saw a high point at 1175.20 and then pulled back and
broke below its S1 Pivot Point at 1169.47. It then fell further to drop below
its S2 pivot point of 1164.73. The SPM2 ended at 1152.300 down 21.90.
Bonds sank and the dollar was mixed. The
June 30 yr. bond
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yr. note closed at 102.297 down .530. The June dollar
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117.44 down .300.
In the Grains: Wheat prices on the Chicago Board
of Trade, finding continuing support from Egypt’s big purchase of U.S. wheat,
which the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed Wednesday. Forecasts for rain
in winter wheat-growing areas limited the rally and pushed wheat to a negative
close. Wheat for May delivery
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bushel; May corn
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soybeans
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Precious metals were traded mixed. April gold
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resistance seen beginning around $293.80 to $294. May silver
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was up 1 cent to $4.54 an ounce. May copper
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76.60.
Arabica coffee futures on the Coffee, Sugar &
Cocoa Exchange rallied to some strong gains today. The May coffee futures
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Sept. 10, following the March 12’s settlement of 56.75 cents per pound. The May
contract unexpectedly changed direction after testing a low of 50.50 cents per
pound. The upward move Wednesday was primarily motivated by the strength on the
London International Financial Futures and Options, which continues to benefit
from the lack of selling pressure from Vietnam, the world’s second-largest
coffee producer. May coffee settled at 56.00 2.65.