oil futures

7 Stories

Oil Volatility Doubles, Price Hits $105 a Barrel

Middle East unrest sends prices soaring

(Newser) - Oil futures are bubbling upward thanks to the unrest in the Middle East, sending crude’s 20-day volatility rating skyrocketing to 29.4—more than double the all-time-low of 12.6 it set at the end of December, Bloomberg reports. In London, Brent crude sold for more than $105 a...

Feds Consider Limits on Oil, Energy Speculation

Commodity Commission to hold hearings on 'purely financial' energy futures trading

(Newser) - Federal regulators may impose new limits on the amount of energy-futures contracts that speculators can buy, the New York Times reports, an attempt to curb severe price fluctuations in commodities like oil and natural gas. Oil prices swung from $145 per barrel last summer to $33 in December, movement some...

Rogue Trader Shocks Oil Market
Rogue Trader Shocks
Oil Market

Rogue Trader Shocks Oil Market

Crude hits highest level in a year on unauthorized trades

(Newser) - On Tuesday, the price of oil spiked unexpectedly to its highest level in 2009—a barrel of crude jumped from $71 to $73.50 in just one hour, for no apparent reason. Yesterday the reason became clear: a rogue broker in London with PVM, the world's largest petroleum brokerage, had...

Dow Dips 81 on Autos, Building
Dow Dips 81 on Autos, Building 
MARKETS

Dow Dips 81 on Autos, Building

Several wireless and financial firms fall after downgrades

(Newser) - Stocks fell today as the markets digested poor, but better-than-forecast, reports in auto sales and construction spending, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though the Dow rose to an 8-week high Friday, it fell 81.80 today to close at 8,952.89. The Nasdaq lost 4.18, closing at 1,...

Poor Day Ends Horrible Week
 Poor Day Ends Horrible Week 
MARKETS

Poor Day Ends Horrible Week

Dow off 312, but bears show some restraint

(Newser) - US stocks declined today but stopped somewhat short of total free fall after global markets plunged close to 10%. With perhaps a buffer from news of a bump in existing US home sales, the Dow fell 312.30 to close at 8,378.95, MarketWatch reports. The Nasdaq dropped 51....

Oil Falls Below $97 on Mild Ike Damage

Better than expected storm drops crude $4.39

(Newser) - Oil prices fell below $97 a barrel today, after Hurricane Ike inflicted minimal damage to oil installations on the Texas coast. Light, sweet crude for October delivery declined $4.39 to $96.79 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by noon in Europe, after finishing...

Feds Hunt for Scams in Crude Oil Trading

Speculators may be driving up crude by manipulation

(Newser) - Federal regulators are investigating whether rocketing oil prices are being driven up by speculators manipulating futures markets, reports the Wall Street Journal. The nationwide probe involves several separate investigations. Authorities suspect that a widely used price reporting system may be artificially influenced and that some oil storage facilities may be...

7 Stories