Nymex Crude Rises, Bouncing Off Recent 2013 Low

U.S. crude futures posted modest gains Friday following sharp declines early this week as traders paused to gauge whether weak demand will keep prices moving lower.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled higher by 28 cents, or 0.3%, at $88.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange for June delivery settled 52 cents higher at $99.65 a barrel.

Oil prices fell 3.6% this week, and are down nearly 10% in April amid high domestic crude-oil supplies and a broader investor retreat from commodities markets. With futures trading near 2013 lows, some investors say a brief rebound is likely even if further declines are ahead.

"Traders are looking for a reason for why this thing might bounce back," said Pete Donovan, an oil broker at Vantage Trading in New York.

Earlier Friday, crude futures rose after Venezuela's oil minister Rafael Ramirez said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was discussing holding a special meeting after Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel. But prices pared gains when three OPEC officials said the group isn't taking formal steps to gather, making such an event unlikely before a scheduled conference at the end of next month.

Venezuela officials have made frequent calls to hold an oil-price "floor" of $100 a barrel.

Meanwhile, many analysts and investors have grown concerned in recent weeks about weak fuel demand, particularly with the approach of the summer driving season in the U.S.

Last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted spring-summer demand for gasoline will fall to a 12-year low of 8.877 million barrels a day.

The slump also coincides with a broader turn from commodities markets. Traders have fled from gold, silver, copper and several energy markets in recent weeks. In addition to weaker demand for oil in the U.S., many commodity investors are concerned that slowing growth in China will also limit demand for raw materials.

"Commodities may face a slow growth environment for the next few quarters," said Barclays analysts in a research report Friday.

Mark Waggoner, head of Excel Futures, said any rebound in oil will be brief.

"The market may try and bump up a little bit, but that's it. It's going down," he said, though he added that market activity on Friday was muted, possibly because people were following the search for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. "Most of the people are just talking about Boston."

Front-month May reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 1.69 cents higher at $2.7724 a gallon. May heating oil settled 0.85 cent higher at $2.7876 a gallon.

Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Nymex Crude Rises, Bouncing Off Recent 2013 Low

U.S. crude futures posted modest gains Friday following sharp declines early this week as traders paused to gauge whether weak demand will keep prices moving lower.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled higher by 28 cents, or 0.3%, at $88.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange for June delivery settled 52 cents higher at $99.65 a barrel.

Oil prices fell 3.6% this week, and are down nearly 10% in April amid high domestic crude-oil supplies and a broader investor retreat from commodities markets. With futures trading near 2013 lows, some investors say a brief rebound is likely even if further declines are ahead.

"Traders are looking for a reason for why this thing might bounce back," said Pete Donovan, an oil broker at Vantage Trading in New York.

Earlier Friday, crude futures rose after Venezuela's oil minister Rafael Ramirez said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was discussing holding a special meeting after Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel. But prices pared gains when three OPEC officials said the group isn't taking formal steps to gather, making such an event unlikely before a scheduled conference at the end of next month.

Venezuela officials have made frequent calls to hold an oil-price "floor" of $100 a barrel.

Meanwhile, many analysts and investors have grown concerned in recent weeks about weak fuel demand, particularly with the approach of the summer driving season in the U.S.

Last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted spring-summer demand for gasoline will fall to a 12-year low of 8.877 million barrels a day.

The slump also coincides with a broader turn from commodities markets. Traders have fled from gold, silver, copper and several energy markets in recent weeks. In addition to weaker demand for oil in the U.S., many commodity investors are concerned that slowing growth in China will also limit demand for raw materials.

"Commodities may face a slow growth environment for the next few quarters," said Barclays analysts in a research report Friday.

Mark Waggoner, head of Excel Futures, said any rebound in oil will be brief.

"The market may try and bump up a little bit, but that's it. It's going down," he said, though he added that market activity on Friday was muted, possibly because people were following the search for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. "Most of the people are just talking about Boston."

Front-month May reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 1.69 cents higher at $2.7724 a gallon. May heating oil settled 0.85 cent higher at $2.7876 a gallon.

Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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PEMEX Death Toll Rises to 35

Petroleos Mexicanos, PEMEX, announced Sunday that its death toll rose to 35 after rescue workers found two more bodies from the rubble of an explosion that occurred at its corporate headquarters in Mexico City, reported Dow Jones Newswires. One body was recovered Saturday night and another Sunday, Pemex said in updates via Twitter.

The blast, which occurred Thursday afternoon, partially destroyed an administrative building that sits next to the oil firm's 48-story corporate tower.

Thus far, 20 of the dead were women who worked in the building doing administrative work like payroll, Pemex officials told Dow Jones. Some 52 are hospitalized due to the explosion, which the company said hadn't affected its oil operations. It is not known how many people still remain trapped in a basement part of the partially collapsed building. Roughly four floors that house about 200 to 250 workers were the most affected.

Authorities haven't determined the cause of the explosion.

With more than 10 years of journalism experience, Robin Dupre specializes in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry. Email Robin at rdupre@rigzone.com.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

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PEMEX Death Toll Rises to 35

Petroleos Mexicanos, PEMEX, announced Sunday that its death toll rose to 35 after rescue workers found two more bodies from the rubble of an explosion that occurred at its corporate headquarters in Mexico City, reported Dow Jones Newswires. One body was recovered Saturday night and another Sunday, Pemex said in updates via Twitter.

The blast, which occurred Thursday afternoon, partially destroyed an administrative building that sits next to the oil firm's 48-story corporate tower.

Thus far, 20 of the dead were women who worked in the building doing administrative work like payroll, Pemex officials told Dow Jones. Some 52 are hospitalized due to the explosion, which the company said hadn't affected its oil operations. It is not known how many people still remain trapped in a basement part of the partially collapsed building. Roughly four floors that house about 200 to 250 workers were the most affected.

Authorities haven't determined the cause of the explosion.

With more than 10 years of journalism experience, Robin Dupre specializes in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry. Email Robin at rdupre@rigzone.com.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

View the original article here