WSJ:OIL FUTURES: Crude Mixed; Focus On US Fed Chief's Speech
By Cheang Chee Yew
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil futures were mixed in Asian trading Friday, with prices moving in a tight range as a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day overshadowed an approaching hurricane on the U.S. east coast.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at $85.20 a barrel at 0623 GMT, down $0.10 in the Globex electronic session after trading between $84.83 and $85.33. October Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.18 to $110.80 a barrel after moving in a similarly narrow band--between $110.35 and $111.01.
"We're waiting on the sidelines [for Bernanke's speech]...there really isn't much to be said for the oil markets for now," said Xing-Yi Chen, an analyst at Barclays Capital in Singapore.
Prices likely to be determined by the tone of Bernanke's speech, said Tokyo-based commodity derivative sales manager Ken Hasegawa at Newedge Japan. "Nymex crude may trade $1.50 a barrel up or down from the current level," he said, adding that Irene, a Category 3 hurricane that is approaching North Carolina, might also provide some support for the oil markets, especially gasoline.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures might meet resistance at $112.70 a barrel Friday, with prices likely to be get a boost from supply concerns, said Stephen Schork of The Schork Report.
The bullish sentiment for Brent crude was attributed to Shell's recent declaration of force majeure on exports of Nigerian Bonny Light crude oil through to October, following several instances of pipeline sabotage.
Brent prices might also get a lift from supply disruptions in the North Sea, which are now expected to stretch to September instead of August, Schork added.
Prolonged maintenance to major oil fields in the North Sea has resulted in delays and cancellations to several crude cargoes since May.
Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for September--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 80 points to $2.9708 a gallon, while September heating oil traded at $2.9908, 53 points higher.
ICE gasoil for September changed hands at $947.00 a metric ton, up $5.00 from Thursday's settlement.
