What's Moving the Oil Markets?

 

•Crude futures stabilized above $62/barrel on Friday but market players said they expect a small downward correction ahead of the weekend, led by NYMEX gasoline futures. "Gasoline and the equity markets have shaped most of the movements this week. I think we may have overcooked it a little so there may be a 50 cent retracement today, but this may provide an opportunity for more people to buy the dip," a London-based broker said.

•A retracement in crude prices may occur if the Dow Jones market opens lower at 1430 GMT, a broker said. "If the Dow Jones opens significantly lower then crude prices will probably fall but I think people have used the equity markets as too much of an excuse for the change in energy prices this week," a broker said.

•Further bullish sentiment came in the form of trade talk that Valero's Port Arthur Texas was the latest plant to suffer an outage. In particular, sources said that it's coker was the unit that was out.

Updated: 03/02/07
 

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