Crude Oil Futures Hold Steady
June 24, 2008 – 10:06 amOil futures were trading higher early Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange, assisted by U.S. dollar weakness and concerns that a Nigerian labor dispute could hinder global crude supplies.
However, West Texas crude for August delivery recently retraced the bulk of its gains and was ahead by 17 cents at $136.91 a barrel. Brent crude was 55 cents higher at $136.46 a barrel.
Reformulated gasoline was fractionally higher at $3.46 a gallon, and heating oil was up 3 cents at $3.82 a gallon. Near-term natural gas was down 14 cents at $13.06 per million British thermal units.
The dollar was losing ground against most major currencies, and the U.S. Dollar Index was off 0.5% at 73.09. The index measures the value of the greenback against a basket of international currencies.
Oil tends to rise when the value of the dollar falls because oil is traded in U.S. dollars in international markets.
In Nigeria, a labor strike against ChevronCVX is threatening to further reduce oil throughput from the country. Labor strikes and militant attacks have already reduced Nigerian throughput capacity by as much as 500,000 barrels a day.
Meanwhile, energy stocks were largely heading south along with broader equity indices. BP BP was 1% lower at $67.43, ConocoPhillips COP was losing 0.8% at $94.78, and Exxon MobilXOM was falling 0.9% at $86.90.
Among exploration and production stocks, ApacheAPA was falling 2.1% at $140.75, and Anadarko Petroleum APC was down 2.3% at $76.22.
The U.S. OilUSO ETF, which tends to closely track the value of WTI contracts on the Nymex, was up fractionally at $111.23.
