Headlines
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Brent trades marginally lower
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Gold nearly steady above 1060 $/oz
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Base metals gain ahead of Chinese Lunar New Year’s holidays
Brent and Distillates
Crude oil traded marginally lower on Monday following its decline in previous sessions, but concerns over weak demand persisted.
On the contrary U.S. crude prices edged higher as buyers braved an uncertain economic outlook to snap up oil at its cheapest in nearly two months. Bargain hunters and large fuel consumers are willing to purchase oil to prevent further losses, particularly with demand due to rise heading into its traditional summer peak.
OPEC member Kuwait has earned at least Dinars 13.83 bln. (48.01bln.$) in oil income during first 10 months of its 2009-2010 fiscal year ending March 31, independent economists said Friday. The oil income, which reflects crude sales and not those of refined products, are about double the total projected oil revenue for the year estimated at Dinars 6.9 bln. Kuwait has recorded budget surpluses for the last 10 years and ended its 2008-2009 fiscal year with an estimated budget surplus of Dinars 6.1 bln.
The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. slid in the last two weeks, undercut by lower crude oil prices, an industry analyst said on Sunday. The national average for self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline was 2.66$/gallon on Feb. 5, down 5.76 USc from Jan. 22, according to the nationwide Lundberg survey of some 5,000 gas stations.
Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, will keep crude supply to U.S. buyers steady in March, sources at three U.S. refiners said Monday. Some U.S. buyers had been seeking increased shipments under a new pricing scheme started in January, but those requests were rejected, sources said.
The government of Ghana has blocked the estimated 4 bln.$ sale of a stake in its Jubilee oil field, foiling months of talks between potential buyer Exxon Mobil Corp and the stake's owner, Kosmos Energy LLC.
China Investment Corp., the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, invested for the first time in the U.S. Oil Fund, an exchange-traded crude-futures fund, joining Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group among the top holders. China Investment became the fourthlargest holder in the Oil Fund by buying 2 mln. shares, equal to 3.48 % of the outstanding units, with a value of 78.6 mln.$, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission.
