Oil slips but stays above $101 on Egypt unrest

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Benchmark U.S. crude-oil futures slipped in electronic trade Thursday, but still hovered at their best level in more than a year following political unrest in Egypt. Crude for August delivery was off 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $101.17 a barrel. The Egyptian military announced late Wednesday, shortly after oil trading closed on the New York Mercantile Exchange, that it had ousted Mohammed Morsi as the country’s president and suspended the constitution, which Morsi’s critics have said unfairly favored his Islamist allies. Ahead of the announcement, oil prices in Wednesday’s Nymex session jumped by $1.64, or 1.7%, to $101.24 a barrel. Oil marked the highest settlement for a most-active contract since May 2012 as Morsi’s rejection of calls for his resignation intensified concerns about the oil sector in the Middle East. Nymex trading will be closed on Thursday for the U.S. Independence Day holiday, and will reopen on Friday. August futures for Brent crude also slipped on Thursday from strong gains logged in the previous day, shedding 12 cents, or 0.1%, to $105.64 a barrel on ICE Futures. On Wednesday, they climbed $1.76, or 1.7%. Oil prices on Wednesday also rose after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude-oil supplies dropped by 10.3 million barrels for the week ended June 28. Analysts polled by Platts were looking for a decline of 3 million barrels. The EIA also said weekly gasoline supplies and distillate stockpiles fell, while analysts had expected each to increase. In trading Thursday, August gasoline held at $2.84 a gallon, and August heating oil shed 1 cent, or 0.4%, to $2.94 a gallon. Natural gas for August delivery slipped less than 1 cent to $3.686 per million British thermal units.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 1:20 PM