Oil Futures Trading


 Oil Futures Trading Illegal Trading Of Grain Commodity Futures
Oil price hits new record of $US101.32 a barrel

WORLD oil prices hit a new record of $US101.32 ($110.48) a barrel in Asian trading today on renewed concerns over global crude oil supplies.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, closed overnight up 73 cents at an all-time high of $US100.74. The latest price spike burst Tuesday's record price of $US100.10 and record close at $US100.01. In London, Brent North Sea crude for April delivery settled 14 cents lower at $US98.42, after striking a record $US98.70 Tuesday. Prices have soared amid growing speculation OPEC, which supplies about 40 per cent of the world's oil, may cut output at its March 5 meeting in Vienna, anticipating a fall in demand at the end of the northern hemisphere winter and a US economic slowdown, analysts said. "Supply worries and comments by some OPEC members that the group might not raise output at their March meeting provided the catalyst for the sharp rally," said Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish.


Dow industrials up triple digits, reversing earlier triple-digit loss

NEW YORK, Feb. 20, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- The Dow industrials rallied triple digits in afternoon trading Wednesday, reversing triple-digit losses seen earlier, as oil's surge to record highs above the $100 mark could no longer dampen enthusiasm over a slight improvement in housing starts and Hewlett-Packard Co.'s (NYSE:HPQ) strong quarterly results and outlook. The Dow industrials was up 108 points at 12,445, with 22 of 30 components trading higher. Earlier in the session, the Dow was down as much as 109.50 points. On Tuesday, the blue chip barometer blew a 157-point intraday gain to close down 11 points as March crude oil futures closed settled above the $100 mark for the first time on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March crude was last up 73 cents at $100.74, paring gains to an earlier high of $101.32.


Oil prices touch new high of $101.32

SINGAPORE: World oil prices hit a new record of USD 101.32 a barrel on renewed concerns over global crude supplies, dealers said on Thursday.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, touched the all-time peak in electronic trading before it lapsed.

In morning trade, the contract for April delivery which took over was trading at USD 99.76 a barrel, up six cents from the previous day.

Brent North Sea crude for April delivery rose three cents to USD 98.45 a barrel. .


NYMEX to Launch 11 New Balance of Month Petroleum Products Swap ...

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. today announced that it will introduce 11 new balance of month (BALMO) petroleum products swap futures contacts on NYMEX ClearPort clearing and trading, beginning on December 2 for trade date December 3.

The new BALMO contracts will be cash-settled based on the balance of month average Platts price starting from the day of execution through the last trading day of the contract month. These contracts allow users to customize the balance of month period by selecting the start date of the BALMO averaging period. The first listed month will be the December 2007 contract, and the next contract month will be listed 10 business days before the start of the contract month.

The new swap futures contracts and their commodity codes are: Singapore 180cst fuel oil BALMO (BS); Singapore 380cst fuel oil BALMO (BT); Singapore jet kerosene BALMO (BX); Singapore gasoil BALMO (VU); Singapore naphtha BALMO (KU); Dubai crude oil BALMO (BI); European 3.5% fuel oil (Northwest Europe) BALMO (KR); European 1% fuel oil (Northwest Europe) BALMO (KX); European naphtha BALMO (KZ); New York Harbor 1.0% fuel oil BALMO (VK); and Gulf Coast 3% fuel oil BALMO (VZ).


Oil prices remain near US$99 a barrel but market seen staying bullish

Oil prices were barely higher Friday from the previous session's close after setting a record above US$100 a barrel overnight on a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery was up 4 cents to US$99.22 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

On Thursday, the contract rose as high as US$100.09 a barrel, a trading record, before retreating to settle at US$99.18.

In London, Brent crude fell 8 cents Friday to US$97.52 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said Thursday that crude inventories fell 4 million barrels last week, much more than the 1.7 million barrel decline analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, on average, had expected.


Traders Bracing For Slump Drive Up Platinum, Wheat, Coffee And Cocoa

Platinum and spring wheat hit record highs Thursday and arabica coffee and cocoa set new trading peaks as well, as investors in commodities pursued markets deemed less vulnerable to the slowing U.S. economy.

Copper, an economically sensitive base metal, overcame jitters over U.S. growth by reacting to Wednesday's cut in interest rates. Traders said copper was also inspired by Thursday's rebound in Wall Street stocks and lingering production issues in China.

But broad commodity futures indexes closed mixed, with the Reuters-Jefferies CRB and Dow Jones-AIG up and the S&P GSCI down.

U.S. crude oil also fell, closing 58 cents lower at $91.75 a barrel on fears of slowing growth in the world's largest economy and the leading energy-consuming nation. Investors in energy were also sidelined ahead of an OPEC meeting on production quotas set for Friday.


US stock futures fall ahead of consumer price data; Fed minutes ...

Investors were also cautious ahead of Wednesday's Commerce Department report on January housing starts and building permits, as well as the Federal Reserve's minutes from its last meeting. On Jan. 30, the Fed decided to lower key interest rates by a half-point to 3 percent, following an emergency three-quarter point cut the prior week.

Dow Jones industrial average futures dropped 88, or 0.71 percent, to 12,300. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 9.30, or 0.69 percent, to 1,346.10, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 9.50, or 0.53 percent, to 1,772.00.

As oil closed above $100 for the first time Tuesday, the stock market gave up its sizable gains and finished mixed. On Wednesday, in premarket electronic trading, crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 95 cents to $99.06 per barrel.


Shares End Low on Continued Credit Worries; Autos Slide

European shares closed lower on Friday for the second straight session, with financials under pressure amid continued worries about credit market exposure and as evidence of earnings damage emerged at Belgium lender Dexia.

With crude oil futures rallying and dollar weakness continuing, auto producers including Porsche, Fiat and Renault also skidded lower. Porsche lost 5.5%, Fiat declined 3.2% and Renault slipped 2.6%.

Overall, the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index lost 0.9% at 362.72. The index has spent two-thirds of November's twelve trading sessions in the red, with Friday bringing the number of down days to eight because of the ...

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BP America Announces Resolution of Texas City, Alaska, Propane Trading ...

HOUSTON, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BP America today announced two plea agreements and a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and a consent order with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission which end governmental investigation of company wrongdoing on matters related to the March 2005 explosion and fire at the Texas City refinery, the March and August 2006 oil transit line spills in Alaska and improper propane trading in April 2003 and February 2004.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000724/NYM120LOGO )

"These agreements are an admission that, in these instances, our operations failed to meet our own standards and the requirements of the law. For that, we apologize," said BP America Chairman and President Bob Malone.


 
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