WTI Crude Trades Near Four-Month High as Cushing Stockpiles Drop

Jalatama ~ West Texas Intermediate oil traded near the highest price in more than four months after an industry report showed inventories fell at the delivery point for benchmark U.S. crude contracts.

Futures were little changed in New York after rising for a second day yesterday. Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, dropped by 1.82 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute said. TransCanada Corp. began moving oil from the storage hub to Texas on the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline in January. Cold weather that has bolstered demand for heating fuels is forecast to return next week, according to Commodities Weather Group LLC.

WTI for March delivery was at $103.32 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 1 cent, at 11:50 a.m. Sydney time. The contract, which expires today, climbed 0.9 percent to $103.31 yesterday, the highest settlement since Oct. 8. The volume of all futures traded was about 54 percent below the 100-day average. The more-active April future was down 9 cents at $102.75.

Brent for April settlement gained 1 cent to settle at $110.47 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The European benchmark crude closed at a premium of $7.63 to WTI for the same month.

Distillate inventories, including heating oil and diesel, declined by 676,000 barrels in the week ended Feb. 14, the API said in Washington yesterday. An Energy Information Administration report today is projected to show supplies declined by 2.1 million, according to the median estimate of 10 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Gold Extends Drop From Three-Month High as Silver Snaps Rally

Gold extended a decline from the highest level in more than three months amid expectations that Federal Reserve minutes will show policy makers backing further stimulus cuts. Silver snapped the longest rally in four decades.

Bullion for immediate delivery lost as much as 0.4 percent to $1,316.91 an ounce and was at $1,318 at 10:10 a.m. in Singapore. The metal touched $1,332.45 yesterday, the highest price since Oct. 31, before dropping 0.5 percent. Gold for April delivery fell 0.5 percent to $1,317.70 an ounce on the Comex.

Gold climbed 9.3 percent this year as signs that the U.S. economy wasn’t recovering in line with expectations boosted haven demand. The Federal Reserve will release minutes of its January meeting today as investors look for the stance of policy makers after New York manufacturing data trailed estimates and U.S. factory output fell. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Feb. 11 that while the labor-market recovery is far from complete, stimulus would be cut in “measured steps.”

Gold fell 28 percent last year, the most since 1981, as U.S. equities advanced and investment holdings fell. The central bank said in December that it would start paring stimulus by cutting monthly bond purchases by $10 billion. It decided on another reduction of the same size last month, to $65 billion.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Gold Climbs to Three-Month High as U.S. Concerns Spur Demand

Gold advanced to the highest level in more than three months as speculation that a U.S. economic recovery will stall boosted demand for haven assets. Silver headed for a 12th day of gains.

Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.9 percent to $1,330.03 an ounce, the highest since Oct. 31, and was at $1,326.78 by 9:41 a.m. in Singapore. Prices climbed 4.1 percent last week, the biggest gain since the period ended Aug. 16.

U.S. factory production unexpectedly declined in January by the most since May 2009, figures from the Federal Reserve showed on Feb. 14. Gold tumbled the most since 1981 last year after some investors lost faith in the metal as a store of value. Bullion has rebounded 10 percent in 2014 amid rising demand for coins and bars and as signs of faltering U.S. economic growth added to the increasing investor appetite for a haven.

Billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson, who backed away from his bullish bet on gold last year, kept his holdings of the metal unchanged in the fourth quarter, a government filing showed Feb. 14. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded product backed by the metal, increased for a third week in the period ended Feb. 14, the longest such rally since August, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Gold for April delivery rose as much as 0.9 percent to $1,329.90 an ounce on the Comex, the highest for a most-active contract since Oct. 31, and traded at $1,326.50. Futures jumped 4.4 percent last week, the most since the period ended Aug. 16.

(Source: Bloomberg)