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Oil prices trading steady on higher dollar, awaits EIA data
Published on February 18, 2010 by oilprices · No CommentsOil prices are holding steady in early trading on Thursday and awaits the latest US EIA data to be released later today, while the US dollar made some gains against the euro.
On the NYMEX, Light crude oil futures for delivery in March traded at $76.92 a barrel at 0708 GMT, down 41 cents in the Globex electronic session, while in London, Brent crude oil futures on London’s ICE Futures Exchange fell 45 cents to $75.82 a barrel.
“The dollar is strengthening against the euro…that’s probably the main reason” for lower oil prices, said David Moore, a commodities strategist with Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, last traded at 80.56, up 0.18.
“But the price is still within the recent trading range…the market is waiting for the EIA (Energy Information Administration) data for more indication,” Moore said.
“In retrospect, it appears that the global economic crisis has postponed, but not canceled, a crunch which otherwise would have been starting to bite pretty much now,” Barclays Capital said in a report. “The trading range should start to move up, with $80 per barrel transitioning from being an effective ceiling to instead becoming an effective floor.”