Europe Rises As Oil Slips

Ivaylo
08 Aug, 2006
Frankfurt

US oil declined slightly and ICE Brent slid from a new record-high as traders booked profits. Oil had jumped 3% after BP started to shut down Prudhoe Bay oilfield in Alaska, the biggest in the United States, possibly for months. The FTSE 100 in London was 0.2% higher, the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt nudged up 0.8% and the CAC-40 in Paris advanced 0.5%.

[R]6:30AM European markets advanced as crude oil prices eased.[/R]
European markets rose on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 in London was 0.2% higher at 5,842.6, the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt nudged up 0.8% to 5,668.78 and the CAC-40 in Paris advanced 0.5% at 4,983.28. In spite of the retreat most oil companies advanced with Neste Oil up 1.4%, Norsk Hydro gaining 0.9% and Statoil adding 0.8. The sector as a whole though was pushed lower by BP’s 1% retreat in continued fallout from its shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay field.

Metrovacesa, the Spanish property company, advanced 2.7%, as Spain’s stock market regulator said it would not rule on an improved offer for Metrovacesa until September. Salzgitter advanced 5% after the German steel maker sold its entire 17% stake in Vallourec, a French steel tube manufacturer. Vallourec shares slipped 4.4%.

Rheinmetall, a German car parts and defence group, plunged 3.8% on disappointment with a 1.4% rise in first-half operating profit and Swiss reinsurer Converium rose 0.7% after beating forecasts with second-quarter net profit.

Light sweet crude oil for September delivery declined 28 cents to $76.70 a barrel in midmorning, while September Brent at London''s ICE Futures exchange fell 41 cents to $77.89 a barrel. Gold traded at $646.00 an ounce, down $2.50 an ounce from Monday''s close of $648.50.

The euro on Tuesday continued its slight slip against the U.S. dollar ahead of a meeting by the Federal Reserve. The euro purchased $1.1.2835 in early European trading, marginally below its level of $$1.2839 in New York late Friday. The British pound fell to $1.9052 from $1.9061. The dollar gained advanced the Japanese currency, rising to 115.08 yen from 115.07 yen.

[R]5:00AM Gold futures rose, traders await FOMC decision on interest rates.[/R]
December gold finished up $3.50 at $659.50 a troy ounce on the NYME. During the session the contract rose to $663.50 an ounce. The benchmark September silver contract ended 22 cents lower at $12.265 an ounce. The most-traded October platinum closed $10.90 higher at $1,266.90 an ounce. September palladium settled up 5 cents at $327.55 an ounce. The most-traded September copper was down 2.20 cents at $3.6105 per pound.

September crude oil ended up $2.22 to $76.98 a barrel after advancing to $77.30. September heating oil settled up 5.39 cents at $2.1435 a gallon. September gasoline rose 2.01 cents to $2.2516 a gallon and September natural gas finished down 33.9 cents at $6.907 a million British thermal units. On the New York Board of Trade, September Arabica coffee settled 1.70 cents higher at $1.0715. October futures for raw sugar in foreign ports ended 0.14 cent lower at 14.27 cents a pound.