NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures finished
nearly 3 percent lower on Friday, after government data showing
the unemployment rate at its highest in 26-1/2 years sparked
more worries about petroleum demand.
Losses deepened from Thursday, when oil futures fell in a
delayed reaction to midweek's government inventory data showing
U.S. total oil product demand over the past four weeks was down
4.5 percent from a year ago. [EIA/S]
The oil markets ignored signals from Wall Street, which,
despite the jobless report, remained up slightly in late
trading, helped by several broker upgrades that offset the
disappointing rise in the unemployment rose to 10.2 percent,
the highest since April 1983. [.N]
"The oil complex wasted no time in drawing a straight line
in connecting the dots between the higher 10.2 percent
unemployment rate and continued weak petroleum consumption,"
said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates in
Galena, Illinois.
"Surplus stocks, soft demand, rising OPEC production and an
ongoing projected supply/demand surplus all point to the
potential for a substantial downward price correction from
current levels, in our view," said Tim Evans, energy analyst at
Citi Futures Perspective in New York.
U.S. employers cut 190,000 jobs in October, the Labor
Department said, more than the 175,000 markets had expected,
but fewer than the 219,000 lost in September. [ID:nN06178752]
The dollar rose against the euro and a basket of major
currencies as the jobs report lifted safe-haven demand for the
greenback. [USD/]
U.S. oil producers and refiners said operations were normal
in and around the Gulf of Mexico early Friday as they monitored
weather systems that could threaten offshore platforms and
coastal facilities in the next several days. [ID:nN06188957]
PRICES
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for December
delivery CLZ9 settled down $2.19, or 2.75 percent, at $77.43
a barrel, after trading from $76.71 to $80.34. For the week,
front-month prices are up 43 cents, or 0.56 percent.
* In London, December Brent crude LCOZ9 ended down $2.12,
or 2.72 percent, at $75.87 a gallon, trading from $75.25 to
$78.81. For the week, prices are up 67 cents, 0.89 percent.
* NYMEX December RBOB RBZ9 ended down 6.34 cents, or 3.19
percent, at $1.9243 a gallon, trading from $1.9026 to $2.0005.
For the week, prices are down 1.89 cents or 0.97 percent.
* NYMEX December heating oil HOZ9 settled down 5.41
cents, or 2.63 percent, at $2.0035 a gallon, trading from
$1.9762 to $2.0739. For the week, front-month prices are up
2.24 cents, or 1.13 percent.
* The December/December RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> ended
at $3.39, down from $3.86 on Thursday. The December/December
heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> ended at $6.72, falling
from $6.80 on Thursday.
* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 ended at $12.84,
widening from $12.37 on Thursday. The December 2014 contract
settled Friday at $90.27, down $1.72, or 1.87 percent.
TECHNICALS
NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $78.98/$78.52
Technical support/resistance:
NYMEX crude: $78.16/$82.00
NYMEX heating oil: $1.9650/$2.10
NYMEX RBOB: $1.9330/$2.00
For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nL6437897]
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. wholesalers continued liquidating their inventories
in September, with stocks falling for the 13th consecutive
month and sales increasing for the fifth straight month,
Commerce Department Data showed on Friday. [ID:nN06184858]
* Ida, which weakened to a tropical depression near the
Honduras-Nicaragua border Friday morning, could break into the
Northwest Caribbean on Saturday and reach the Gulf of Mexico
early Monday, the National Hurricane Center said.
* Elsewhere, weather forecaster AccuWeather.com reported
that a yet unnamed system brewing in the southwestern Gulf of
Mexico could deliver disruptive tropical storm conditions.
* Next week, the EIA will delay by a day, to Thursday, its
weekly petroleum inventory report due to the federal Veterans
Day holiday on Wednesday. The American Petroleum Institute will
issue its report as usual on Tuesday.
* Hovensa LLC said hat repairs on a gasoline-making unit at
its giant refinery in St. Croix, the Virgin Islands, have been
completed and restart of the unit has begun. [ID:nN06182025]
* For a list of recent refinery and unit shutdowns and
restarts, click [REF/US].
(Reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)
