Prospects of a heavy wet season in Australia’s Queensland state the world’s largest mining hub for coking coal are spooking markets and keeping the price of key steelmaking ingredient above historical levels as rainwater equal to total volume of Sydney Harbor still caught in potholes. Steel producers fear a repeat of last year’s La Niña monsoon, which 37 million tons (40.8 million short tons) of production cut from the $ 80 billion global steel production of coal, driving prices more than 50% and eating deep in the margins of the global steel industry.
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Windsurfing subcommittee recommended the South Korean company POSCO largest steel group get 74 percent equity in the company SAIL joint venture. Give shares on the basis of patented technologies FINEX and funding provided by the South Korean government for the construction of the steel plant in Jharkhand. months of windsurfing subcommittee approved a proposal to establish common ground steel joint venture of Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP). Read more
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Oppenheimer sees oil below $ 120 per barrel in 2011
NEW YORK – Shares of oil and gas producers led gains in energy stocks on Thursday, as the broad stock market rose and crude oil prices remained near $ 106 a barrel.
The NYSE Arca Oil Index (XOI 1357, +7.23, +0.54%) rose 0.5% to 1357. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index (XNG 683.35, +4.43, +0.65%) added 0.7% to 684. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index (OSX 289.12, +1.29, +0.45%) rose 0.5% to 289.
Crude oil prices ended the session lower by 0.1% to settle at $ 105.60 a barrel, as continued attacks on Libya. See Futures Movers column for more information about oil prices.
Walk facing oil markets
How the markets will face crude oil topping $ 106 a barrel.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA 12,171, +84.54, +0.70%) rose 85 points.
With oil now breaking $ 106 a barrel and no end in sight of conflicts in Libya, Syria and elsewhere, Wall Street bid the shares of many energy companies.
Earlier this week, Oppenheimer analyst warned that a serious disturbance in the Middle East oil prices would top the record of $ 148 per barrel in 2008 to propel, but a price below $ 120 a barrel more than likely.
“We think oil prices will remain inflated by concerns over potential supply disruptions, especially with the unrest in the Middle East, and continued financial speculation,” Oppenheimer analyst Fadel Gheit wrote Wednesday in a note to clients .
Only about one month ago, oil near $ 85 a barrel. That was for the Japanese earthquake, air strikes in Libya, and now renewed jitters about the European sovereign debt crisis, rocked commodity markets. See story about Portugal unrest.
Gheit said almost all energy companies are making a positive cash flow when oil is $ 80 or higher.
At a price of $ 100 per barrel West Texas Intermediate Crude and natural gas prices of $ 4 per million cubic feet of natural gas, Chevron (CVX 105.40, +0.02, +0.02%) 2011 will profit from 25.9 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of $ 19 billion in 2010 to generate, Gheit said.
ConocoPhillips (COP 80.00, +0.30, +0.38%) will be approximately $ 11.6 billion, roughly equal to its 2010 earnings of $ 11.4 billion, according to Gheit, while Exxon Mobil (XOM 82.77, +0.04, +0.05%) would earn 42.7 billion U.S. dollars, up 30.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2010.
Shares of Exxon Mobil rose 0.2% on Thursday. Chevron fell 0.1% and ConocoPhillips rose 1.5%.
source:marketwatch
Gold settled higher inflation concerns and weaker Treasury yields lured buyers back into the safe haven asset.
The news reinforced gold prices as investors tend to buy gold to hedge against inflation. Falling yields on Treasurys also encouraged investors back into the gold market. Gold continued long term to attract buyers, with open interest in June 2011 and December 2011 contracts gaining ground in recent days.
Gold opened the day at 20,511. A bounce after the solid employment data took us to an intraday high of 20,644. Dollar strength and a weaker market for treasury encouraged sales in the metal, takes us to a low of 20,502.
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WASHINGTON – With oil still flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. government imposed on the offshore industry to flood the drilling of new laws and regulations. After several hearings and heated political rhetoric, a number of key congressional panel will begin deliberating or voting on legislation made in response of the biggest oil disaster in U.S. history following week. (more…)
