Commodity Daily News

Oil Sees Minor Gains in Overnight Session

The continued violence in Libya caused oil to make slight gains during the Asian trading session, despite the fact that US stockpiles of crude oil rose significantly higher than expected according to a report released yesterday. Typically a high US crude inventory signals that demand is down and leads to a drop in prices. It appears that supply worries due to Middle East violence are still propping up prices.

Currently crude oil is trading at $104.85 a barrel, up close to $1 since last night. With no clues as to if or when the situation in Libya will become pacified, traders can expect the price of crude to remain above $100 a barrel for some time. That being said, tomorrow's US Non-Farm Employment Change figure is likely to inject significant volatility into the marketplace and the price of oil is likely to be affected. Traders will want to watch out for any surprises which could cause crude to shift dramatically.