Month: June 2015

By Eric Yep Crude-oil futures remained under pressure in Asian trade Tuesday, as investors monitor the progress of the Iranian nuclear talks in Vienna and a worsening Greek debt crisis. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at $57.97 a barrel at 0258 GMT, down $0.36 in the Globex electronic session. August Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.29 to $61.72 a barrel. Oil prices had lost around 2% in the previous trading session. Greece looks set to default on its payment to the International Monetary Fund due Tuesday. Markets are also increasingly worried about the likelihood of Greece exiting the eurozone. Meanwhile, Iran has dispatched two senior officials to the nuclear talks in Vienna in a last-minute push for a breakthrough, even as U.S. officials acknowledged the talks are likely to overshoot today’s deadline. There is significant concern […]

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Oil held losses below $60 a barrel as investors weighed the prospects of Iran increasing crude exports in an oversupplied market. Futures were little changed in New York after falling 2.2 percent Monday. U.S. and European diplomats meeting in Vienna said a path to a comprehensive nuclear accord with Iran can be reached within days as Tuesday’s deadline for an agreement is set to be missed. A measure of volatility in crude trading rose the most since December amid concern financial turmoil in Greece will prompt its exit from the euro area. Oil is headed for its first monthly drop since March as the Greek debt crisis prompted investors to avoid risky assets, while signs of a global glut persist. Iran, the fifth-largest producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has estimated it can double exports from about 1 million barrels a day within six months if international […]

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LONDON Oil fell more than $1 to below $62 per barrel on Monday, its lowest in three weeks, as Greece shut its banks and imposed capital controls, causing investors to flee from riskier assets and darkening the demand outlook. The European Central Bank froze funding support to Greece’s banks after bailout talks between the government and foreign creditors broke down at the weekend, leaving Athens with little choice but to shut the system to keep lenders from collapsing. Brent crude LCOc1 was down $1.36 at $61.90 a barrel by 0828 GMT. It fell to its lowest since June 5. U.S. crude CLc1 was down $1.25 at $58.38 a barrel, its lowest since June 9. Further weakness is likely as the situation in Greece will not be resolved until a referendum at the weekend on whether to accept conditions for a bailout, analysts said. "This may be the time when […]

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By Nicole Friedman NEW YORK–Natural gas prices rose Monday on a slightly warmer temperature forecast, but continued cooler-than-normal temperatures across much of the country kept the price gains subdued. August futures settled up 3.5 cents, or 1.3%, at $2.805 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Hot weather boosts natural-gas demand in the summer as households and offices use more gas-fired electricity to power air conditioners. This summer, robust production has pushed the market into oversupply. A widely followed forecast released Monday called for hotter weather in the next two weeks than previously expected, boosting prices, said Gelber & Associates in a note. However, the firm added, other forecasting models are predicting that cooler temperatures will persist. Natural-gas inventories grew less than expected in the week ended June 19, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Some analysts expect that trend to continue, reducing the […]

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