Commodity Daily News

Solid Natural Gas Stock Sends Oil Lower as Commodities See Sell-Off

Oil prices jumped above $100 a barrel yesterday morning following a report out of the United States on Wednesday which revealed zero growth in their weekly oil stockpile data. These US oil stockpile reports had shown growth of over 3 million barrels a week for the past two consecutive weeks. The sudden halt of this inventory growth had a sharp effect on the value of Crude Oil as its price jumped above $100 a barrel shortly after the report was published.

Thursday's publication of natural gas storage in the United States, however, was enough to send commodity prices back down. After peaking near $101 a barrel, the price of oil fell back to $98 on moves by commodity investors to sell commodities amid an expectation for decreased demand following soft manufacturing data in the US. President Barack Obama's endorsement of the democratic uprisings, known as the ‘Arab Spring,' in the Middle East has also caused enough of a stir to expect some shifts in oil prices as reforms are anticipated. Whether this buzz will persist through the end of the trading day is yet to be seen.