Crude Oil & Brent Oil Climb As Crimea Votes To Secede

Crude oil gained late on Thursday and continued that pattern this morning adding 24 cents to trade at 101.81 while Brent oil climbed 7 cents to touch 108.43.  Oil ended higher in a late rally on Thursday, snapping a two-day loss, even as the dollar trending lower against a basket of major currencies amid the continued stand-off between Russia and West, with the U.S. imposing some sanctions against Moscow. Oil prices trended lower for most of the day on increased crude stockpiles in the U.S. and ahead of the important monthly U.S. jobs data due Friday.

Investors also mulled over some encouraging macroeconomic data out of the U.S., with initial claims for unemployment benefits declining more than expected

last week. U.S. economic data released Thursday included the weekly jobless claims report, the Challenger job cuts report, manufacturers’ shipments and inventories, and ICSC chain store sales trends. Taken together, this data once again favored the weak side of market expectations. That was also a bullish underlying factor for the oil on Thursday. It would hint that the Federal Reserve may not be as aggressive in winding down its quantitative easing programs in the coming months. The forecast is for the key non-farm payrolls figure of the jobs data to come in at up 150,000 in February.

Crude oil prices fluctuated amid hopes of a diplomatic resolution between Russia and Ukraine. However, matters became complicated after the Crimean parliament unanimously voted in favor of becoming a part of Russia on Thursday, even as world leaders exerted pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to pullout troops from Crimea. Russia has been occupying the strategically important Crimea region of Ukraine since the weekend. New production coming online may allow Iraq to claim the mantle as the fastest growing oil exporter in the world. For 2014, Iraq may post one of the biggest supply additions in its history, fueling optimism both the country’s trajectory and about global oil supplies.

The violence in Anbar province over the last few months has largely gone unnoticed in Iraq’s huge southern oil fields, where BP and ExxonMobil are hoping to boost production. In February, Iraq’s oil sales reached 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd), a 500,000 bpd increase from January. Analysts think that Iraq could average 2.9 million bpd for all of 2014, up from 2.4 million bpd last year. Iraq had originally set a goal of 4 million bpd in production for this year, with 3.4 million of that total meant to be exported. Despite the lift in output, that target appears too ambitious for this year.

Natural gas climbed to 4.649 adding 15 points on Friday morning. Natural-gas prices rose Thursday after government data showed that supplies fell more than expected last week. Natural gas for April delivery settled 3.1% higher at $4.662 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Inventories fell 152 billion cubic feet last week, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed. That was more than the 137-bcf draw that analysts had expected and above the average withdrawal for the week.  Colder-than-average temperatures have eaten away at natural-gas stockpiles this winter amid record demand for gas-fueled heating in homes and offices. About half of U.S. households use natural gas as their primary heating fuel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.