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NYMEX crude futures end Wednesday trading down, oil supplies up
Published on September 24, 2009 by oilprices · No CommentsUS NYMEX crude futures closed nearly 4 percent lower on Wednesday, clearly stung by data showing unexpectedly large weekly increases in domestic crude oil and refined product supplies.
“Today’s data certainly was on the bearish side across the board. Crude builds are largely the result of lower refinery utilization and stronger-than-expected imports,” said Chris Jarvis, senior analyst at Caprock Risk Management, in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.
In a much-awaited policy statement after a two-day meeting, the Federal Reserve said that the U.S. economy was in recovery after a severe downturn and decided to slow purchases of mortgage debt. The Fed also kept interest rates unchanged.
The US dollar fell against the euro while Wall Street advanced on the Fed’s optimistic view. “The Fed statement appears to be identical to the one they issued in their last meeting. Before the statement, I thought crude oil futures were going to retest the day’s lows again, but the S&P turned higher, which seemed to indicate following the Fed statement that the economy was beginning to slowly stabilize if not in fact recover,” said Gene McGillian, analyst, Tradition Energy, in Stamford, Connecticut.
Oil traders were also keeping an eye on a Group of 20 summit, which begins on Thursday in Pittsburgh and is expected to call on countries to maintain economic stimulus plans, a move which could give a boost to riskier assets.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, new front-month November crude CLX9 settled down $2.79, or 3.89 percent, at $68.97 a barrel, trading from $68.57 to $71.81.