Bloomberg News: a great source on the fluctuating world oil market

Bloomberg has great reporting on the energy markets and we highly recommend using their service as a information tool. Read below for an an example of their reporting, which includes a summary of the factors affecting current oil prices including increased business confidence in Germany, a stockpile surplus in the US, and a consistently unsteady world economy that heavily influence futures.

Bloomberg Report: Click here or read below.

West Texas Intermediate oil fluctuated in New York as German business confidence climbed to a 10-month high and U.S. crude inventories rose to the highest level since July.

Futures gained as much as 0.7 percent as the Munich-based Ifo institute's business climate index climbed, signaling that Europe's largest economy is gathering strength. Oil tumbled yesterday after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude supplies rose 4.14 million barrels last week to 376.4 million. The selloff brings prices in line with underlying fundamentals, Jeffrey Currie, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s head of commodities research in New York, said in a report.

The market is refocusing on the economy after the bloodbath of the last couple days, " said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. The German investor confidence numbers were better than expected, supporting the market today. The market is going to be batted back and forth on the latest economic headlines. "

Crude oil for April delivery fell 16 cents to $92.68 a barrel at 9:23 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract ended at $92.84 yesterday, the lowest settlement since Dec. 31. Futures are down 3.3 percent this week. The volume of all futures traded was 5.5 percent above the 100-day average for the time of day.

Brent Gains

Brent oil for April settlement climbed 70 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $114.23 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices are heading for a 2.9 percent drop this week. The volume was 12 percent lower than the 100-day average.

The European benchmark crude grade traded at a $21.55 premium WTI. The gap expanded to $23.18 on Feb. 8, the widest since Nov. 26.

Ifo's business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, climbed to 107.4 from 104.3 in January. Economists predicted an increase to 104.9, according to the median of 38 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.

The current selloff in oil is bringing prices more in line with the underlying fundamentals, " Currie said in the report dated yesterday.

Gasoline inventories decreased 2.9 million barrels last week, the EIA said yesterday. They were projected to fall 900,000 barrels in a Bloomberg survey. Distillate stockpiles, including heating oil and diesel, slid 2.3 million barrels, compared with a predicted 1.8 million decline.

Moving Averages

Futures in New York may decline after breaching support at the 50-day moving average, according to a technical analysis by Bill Baruch, a senior market strategist at Iitrader.com in Chicago. The April contract may move toward the 200-day moving average around $92.22 a barrel, he said. It settled yesterday below the 50-day mean for the first time since Dec. 18.

Oil in New York may fall next week, a Bloomberg survey showed. Twenty of 30 analysts and traders, or 67 percent, forecast crude will drop through March 1. Five respondents, or 17 percent, predicted a gain. Five said there would be little change. Last week, 48 percent of those surveyed projected a decrease.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets in New York at dstets@bloomberg.net.