NEW YORK, Feb 5 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures ended at a
seven-week low on Friday, down for a third day in a row, as a
surging dollar and worries about the U.S. labor market after a mixed
government jobs report combined to pressure energy futures.
'The big truth of today's report is not that the job market improved, which it did not,' said Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics in Austin, Texas.
'The big truth is that, with downward revisions to previous employment reports, there were more jobs lost than had been previously estimated,' he said.
'In other words, this is not a positive employment report. Clearly, a job-less recovery is occurring.'
Daily trading volume for NYMEX front-month crude hit a record. Estimated volume topped 540,000 positions shortly after settlement and as of 4:30 p.m. EST (2055 GMT) had surged further to a preliminary 559,000. The previous front-month record was 527,000, hit on Dec. 9.
NYMEX's daily trading volume for all crude oil futures contracts hit a preliminary 1,007,414 positions, just below the 1,037,324 reached on Dec. 9. The record was 1,092,509 positions set on June 6, 2008.
In the oil markets, concerns were raised that the unsteady employment picture 'will continue to translate into anemic gasoline demand,' said John Kilduff, a partner at Round Earth Capital in New York.
'The dollar is strong, with worries up about the fiscal health of some euro zone countries. At the same time, front-month NYMEX crude broke below support at $72.40 and that triggered sell stops,' said Phil Flynn, an analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.
The U.S. dollar and yen gained as persistent worries about the euro zone's fiscal stability pushed investors further away from risky assets and into traditional safe-havens.
Wall Street erased a midday drop, ending slightly up after a volatile week punctuated by mixed signals from labor market data and anxiety over Europe's fiscal problems.
U.S. crude oil futures slumped 5 percent on Thursday, posting the steepest one-day percentage loss since July, on the stronger dollar and concerns about Europe's economy and global oil demand in a sluggish economic recovery.
PRICES
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, March crude settled down $1.95, or 2.67 percent, at $71.19 a barrel, trading from $73.94 to $69.50, lowest since the Dec. 15 intraday low of $69.31.
* NYMEX front-month crude's three-day loss was $6.04, or 7.8 percent. Prices are down for the fourth week in a row. In the latest week, they fell $1.70, or 2.33 percent.
* In London, March Brent crude settled down $2.54, or 3.52 percent, at $69.59 a barrel, trading from $72.52 to $67.87, lowest since Oct. 8's $67.07. Brent crude fell for the fourth consecutive week. In the latest week, it dropped $1.87, or 2.62 percent.
* NYMEX March RBOB ended down 6.44 cents, or 3.3 percent, at $1.8864 a gallon, trading from $1.8570, the lowest since the $1.8519 intraday low on Dec. 22, to $1.9595. RBOB was down for the fourth straight week. In the latest week, it fell 1.67 cents, or 0.88 percent.
* NYMEX March heating oil ended down 6.04 cents, or 3.12 percent, at $1.8747 a gallon. It traded from $1.8272, the lowest since the $1.8263 intraday low on Oct. 9. Heating oil was down for the fourth successive week. In the latest week, it dropped 2.81 cents, or 1.48 percent.
* The March/March heating oil crack spread ended at $7.55, down from at $8.14 on Thursday. The March/March RBOB crack spread ended at $8.04, dropping from $8.79 on Thursday.
* The spread between the current front month and the five-year forward crude contract ended at $13.44, narrowing from $13.73 on Thursday. The March 2015 contract settled Friday at $84.63, down $2.24, or 2.58 percent.
MARKET NEWS
* A blizzard will hit the mid-Atlantic states this weekend. Unseasonably cold weather will settle over the Midwest and Northeast next week, according to forecasters.
* BlueGold Capital, a hedge fund managing $1.5 billion, said it was not responsible for recent crude price falls after market talk it had sold long positions helped send oil down 5 percent on Thursday.
* For a list of U.S. refinery issues, click on
(Reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons) Keywords: MARKETS ENERGY NYMEX (gene.ramos@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 646 223 6054; Reuters Messaging: gene.ramos.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'The big truth of today's report is not that the job market improved, which it did not,' said Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics in Austin, Texas.
'The big truth is that, with downward revisions to previous employment reports, there were more jobs lost than had been previously estimated,' he said.
'In other words, this is not a positive employment report. Clearly, a job-less recovery is occurring.'
Daily trading volume for NYMEX front-month crude hit a record. Estimated volume topped 540,000 positions shortly after settlement and as of 4:30 p.m. EST (2055 GMT) had surged further to a preliminary 559,000. The previous front-month record was 527,000, hit on Dec. 9.
NYMEX's daily trading volume for all crude oil futures contracts hit a preliminary 1,007,414 positions, just below the 1,037,324 reached on Dec. 9. The record was 1,092,509 positions set on June 6, 2008.
In the oil markets, concerns were raised that the unsteady employment picture 'will continue to translate into anemic gasoline demand,' said John Kilduff, a partner at Round Earth Capital in New York.
'The dollar is strong, with worries up about the fiscal health of some euro zone countries. At the same time, front-month NYMEX crude broke below support at $72.40 and that triggered sell stops,' said Phil Flynn, an analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.
The U.S. dollar and yen gained as persistent worries about the euro zone's fiscal stability pushed investors further away from risky assets and into traditional safe-havens.
Wall Street erased a midday drop, ending slightly up after a volatile week punctuated by mixed signals from labor market data and anxiety over Europe's fiscal problems.
U.S. crude oil futures slumped 5 percent on Thursday, posting the steepest one-day percentage loss since July, on the stronger dollar and concerns about Europe's economy and global oil demand in a sluggish economic recovery.
PRICES
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, March crude settled down $1.95, or 2.67 percent, at $71.19 a barrel, trading from $73.94 to $69.50, lowest since the Dec. 15 intraday low of $69.31.
* NYMEX front-month crude's three-day loss was $6.04, or 7.8 percent. Prices are down for the fourth week in a row. In the latest week, they fell $1.70, or 2.33 percent.
* In London, March Brent crude settled down $2.54, or 3.52 percent, at $69.59 a barrel, trading from $72.52 to $67.87, lowest since Oct. 8's $67.07. Brent crude fell for the fourth consecutive week. In the latest week, it dropped $1.87, or 2.62 percent.
* NYMEX March RBOB ended down 6.44 cents, or 3.3 percent, at $1.8864 a gallon, trading from $1.8570, the lowest since the $1.8519 intraday low on Dec. 22, to $1.9595. RBOB was down for the fourth straight week. In the latest week, it fell 1.67 cents, or 0.88 percent.
* NYMEX March heating oil ended down 6.04 cents, or 3.12 percent, at $1.8747 a gallon. It traded from $1.8272, the lowest since the $1.8263 intraday low on Oct. 9. Heating oil was down for the fourth successive week. In the latest week, it dropped 2.81 cents, or 1.48 percent.
* The March/March heating oil crack spread ended at $7.55, down from at $8.14 on Thursday. The March/March RBOB crack spread ended at $8.04, dropping from $8.79 on Thursday.
* The spread between the current front month and the five-year forward crude contract ended at $13.44, narrowing from $13.73 on Thursday. The March 2015 contract settled Friday at $84.63, down $2.24, or 2.58 percent.
MARKET NEWS
* A blizzard will hit the mid-Atlantic states this weekend. Unseasonably cold weather will settle over the Midwest and Northeast next week, according to forecasters.
* BlueGold Capital, a hedge fund managing $1.5 billion, said it was not responsible for recent crude price falls after market talk it had sold long positions helped send oil down 5 percent on Thursday.
* For a list of U.S. refinery issues, click on
(Reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons) Keywords: MARKETS ENERGY NYMEX (gene.ramos@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 646 223 6054; Reuters Messaging: gene.ramos.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.