DTN Oil Update
Oil Futures Up With Thin Trading on Christmas Eve
HOUSTON (DTN) -- Oil futures prices rose Tuesday amid thin trading activity for the second consecutive day on the eve of the Christmas holiday as market participants focused on initial jobless claims to be released Thursday.
NYMEX WTI futures contract for February delivery rose $0.54 to $69.78 barrel (bbl) while February Brent crude contract edged up $0.56 to $73.19.â?¯ January RBOB futures rose by $0.0094 to $1.9477 gallon while January ULSD climbed $0.0069 to $2.2332 gallon.
The U.S. dollar index strengthened to 107.9 against a basket of currencies for the third consecutive trading session. â?¯
Prices are expected to continue under downward pressure the rest of the year due to a combination of weak demand and abundant supplies, coupled with concerns of inflationary pressures on the U.S. economy based on recent economic data and trade tariffs to be imposed by the upcoming Donald Trump's administration next year.
The Conference Board on Monday said the Consumer Confidence Index fell to 104.7 in December from a revised figure of 112.8 reported the previous month, and it was below market expectations of 113.
The data followed the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points last week, causing a bearish sentiment in the market due to expectations of high inflation levels still prevailing next year.
This week, market participants will focus on the initial jobless claims data to be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Dec. 26. In the week ended Dec. 14, the seasonally adjusted initial claims reached 220,000. For December the expectation is that the figure will climb to 225,000 on increasing layoffs.
Energy Information Administration's data released Monday showed the U.S. average on-highway diesel fuel price fell by 1.8 cents to $3.476 gallon as of Monday, a fall of 43.8 cents, year-over-year.
EIA reported lower prices across the major PADDs, ranging from a dip of 0.1-cent to a loss of more than a nickel on the week.
Maria Eugenia Garcia can be reached at Maria.Garcia@dtn.com
