Forecast & Analysis

Democrats Seek To Keep Keystone XL Oil In US

(Dow Jones) Crude oil carried by the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would have to stay in the US under a bill introduced by House Democrats. It's the latest maneuver in the political fight over TransCanada's (TRP) effort to ship crude from Canada to Texas. Rep. Ed Markey (D., Mass... Full Story

Exxon Mobil's Natural-Gas Push Could Hit Small US Producers

By Isabel Ordonez Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Exxon Mobil Corp.'s (XOM) decision to leave its U.S... Full Story

CFTC Nymex: Money Managers Cut Net Long Crude-Oil Position

By Jerry A. DiColo Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Money managers lowered their net long position in New York Mercantile Exchange crude-oil futures and options by 1... Full Story

Baker Hughes: US Gas Rig Count -32 In Week, -166 Vs Year Ago; At 745

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The number of natural gas drilling rigs working in the U.S. fell by 32 in the latest week, to 745, holding at a two-year low for the third straight week, oil-field-services company Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) said Friday. The gas rig count was down 166 from a year ago... Full Story

Natural Gas Could Slump To $1.50 -SocGen

(Dow Jones) Societe Generale cuts its 2012 US natural-gas price forecast by 50c to a 13-year lower of $2.40/MMBtu. Even that weak price view is based on the "critical assumption, not supported by current production indicators," that record-high output will be curtailed... Full Story

Bets on Raw Materials Rising Most Since ’06 as Factories Grow: Commodities

By Joe Richter and Whitney McFerron - Feb 3, 2012 Investments in commodities are expanding at the quickest pace in six years on signs of rising economic growth, even as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. warn that some prices have rallied too fast... Full Story

Top News Stories

Deadly Clashes As Anger With Egypt Military Boils Over

CAIRO (AFP)--A second day of clashes with Egyptian police left two protesters dead in Cairo on Friday as anger against the ruling military boiled over amid fury at the deaths of 74 people in football-related violence... Full Story

Sudan Closer To War Than Peace With South -Bashir

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP)--Sudan is closer to war than peace with the breakaway state of South Sudan, President Omar al-Bashir said on national television on Friday, with a dispute over oil and other issues stoking tensions. "The climate now is closer to a climate of war than one of peace," he said... Full Story

US Interior Department Scales Back Oil Shale Development Plans

By Ryan Tracy Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Obama administration scaled back plans Friday to allow companies to search for hard-to-extract oil deposits on federal land... Full Story

Iran 'Detaining' Relatives Of Journalists -BBC

LONDON (AFP)--The Iranian government has arrested relatives of Persian-language journalists working abroad for the BBC in a bid to silence them, the British Broadcasting Corporation said Friday... Full Story

Islamists Sweep Kuwait Polls As Women Lose Out

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (AFP)--Kuwait's Islamist-led opposition has won a landslide majority in Kuwait's snap polls by securing 34 seats in the 50-member parliament, with women and liberals the big losers, results showed Friday... Full Story

Saudi King, IMF Chief Discuss "World Economy"

RIYADH (AFP)--King Abdullah and visiting International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde met Friday in the Saudi capital and discussed the "world economy," the official SPA news agency reported... Full Story

Financial

US GAS: Futures Settle -2.2% At $2.499/mmBtu On Supply Glut

By David Bird Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Natural-gas futures prices settled 2.2% lower Friday at $2.499 per million British thermal units on expectations that near-term weather won't spark enough demand to dent a huge supply glut. Prices shed 6... Full Story

OIL FUTURES: Crude Jumps As Data Show US Added More Jobs In January

By Dan Strumpf Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Oil futures rose sharply Friday after the U.S. government said unemployment fell last month, boosting expectations that demand from the world's biggest oil consumer will improve... Full Story

Oil Rises for First Time in Six Days as U.S. Unemployment Rate Declines

By Moming Zhou and Mark Shenk - Feb 3, 2012 Oil gained for the first time in six days, paring a weekly decline, after the U.S. jobless rate fell to the lowest level in three years. Futures climbed 1.5 percent after the Labor Department said the unemployment rate dropped to 8... Full Story

US GAS: Futures Resume Declines As Oversupply Persists

By David Bird Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Natural-gas futures prices were trading lower Friday on expectations that near-term weather won't spark enough demand to dent a huge supply glut. Prices failed to follow through on Thursday's sharp 7... Full Story

OIL FUTURES: Crude Futures Jump After Strong US Payrolls Data

By Dan Strumpf Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil futures rose Friday after the U.S. government said employers there added 243,000 jobs last month, bolstering expectations that oil demand from the world's biggest crude consumer will improve... Full Story

Oil Rises for First Time in Six Days as U.S. Unemployment Rate Declines

By Moming Zhou and Mark Shenk - Feb 3, 2012 Oil gained for the first time in six days, paring a weekly loss, after the U.S. jobless rate fell to the lowest level in three years. Oil climbed as much as 1.2 percent after the Labor Department said the unemployment rate dropped to 8... Full Story

Releases

Ex-BP Safety Chairman Castell To Quit Board

LONDON (Dow Jones)--The BP PLC (BP.LN, BP) director who became a lightning rod for investor criticism of the company's handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has indicated he will step down from his post... Full Story

Imperial Oil Approves C$2 Bln Cold Lake Oil-Sands Expansion

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO) said it has approved a C$2 billion expansion of its big Cold Lake oil-sands operation in northeastern Alberta, a move that will add more than 40,000 barrels of commercial bitumen production a day... Full Story

First Energy gets boost from closing coal plants

NEW YORK (AP) -- Instead of complaining about clean air rules, maybe utilities should cheer them. Sometimes, the rules lead to big gains... Full Story

Murphy Oil Announces Executive Promotions

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) announced today the following promotions, effective February 1, 2012. Bill Stobaugh has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Corporate Planning & Business Development... Full Story

Brazil Regulator: No Decision Yet On Fines In Petrobras Oil Spill

RIO DE JANEIRO (Dow Jones)--Brazil's lead environmental regulator has not yet slapped state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR4... Full Story

Total Launches the Hild Field Development in the North Sea, Norway

Total (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT), operator of the Hild license, launches the development of this field located in the Norwegian North Sea. This development will represent an investment of US$4.2 billion (NOK 25... Full Story

Weather

Where's the snow? Not in Lower 48, but elsewhere

WASHINGTON (AP) — Snow has been missing in action for much of the U.S. the last couple months. But it's not just snow. It's practically the season that's gone AWOL. "What winter?" asked Mike Halpert, deputy director of the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center... Full Story

NOAA: Above-Normal February Temperatures Across Much Of US

By David Bird Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Above-normal temperatures are expected across much of the U.S. in February, government forecasters said Tuesday in an end-of-the-month outlook... Full Story