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Strong Job Gains, for Second Month, Reframe Economic Outlook
After months of conflicting signals and economic uncertainty, it became clear on Friday that the American jobs machine has moved back into high gear. A report from the Labor Department that said employers added 255,000 jobs in July had been eagerly anticipated on Wall Street, in Washington and on the campaign trail, and the much-better-than-expected showing immediately rippled through all three arenas. Stocks surged, experts expressed more confidence that the Federal Reserve was likely to raise interest rates at least once this year, and it was evident that long-stagnant wages for ordinary workers were advancing at a more robust pace. “This was everything you could have asked for, maybe more,” said Michelle Meyer, head of United States economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We’re seeing new entrants into the labor market, which implies a longer runway for the business cycle.” And with the political conventions completed, the buoyant […]
Oil prices slip as short-covering rally fizzles
Oil prices dipped on Friday, ending a two-day rally, as a glut of crude and refined products weighed on markets and investors eyed a possible stutter in China’s imports. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 fetched $41.74 per barrel at 0930 GMT (0530 ET), down 19 cents from their last close, after trading as low as $41.44 earlier in the day. They were on track roughly to break even on the week. International Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $44.07 per barrel, down 22 cents on the day but set for a weekly gain of around 3.5 percent. Downward pressure returned as overproduction in crude and refined products has left onshore storage tanks brimming and triggered the chartering of tankers to store unsold fuel. There are also growing worries that […]
Natural Gas Prices Fall on Production Concerns
Natural gas prices fell Friday as concerns about an uptick in production put pressure on the market. Contracts for September delivery recently fell 4 cents, or 1.6%, to $2.790 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, on track to end the week at a loss. On Thursday, prices had briefly spiked after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said storage levels shrank by 6 billion cubic feet of gas in the week ending July 29. It was the first drawdown in a summer week since August 2006, and many analysts and traders had expected natural gas to rally after the unexpected withdrawal. The fact that prices instead ended lower for the day, and looked on course to notch another session of losses, confused some traders. “Natural gas loves irony,” said Scott Shelton, a broker at United-ICAP. “It loves to fall when it looks most bullish.” Despite […]
Saudi Arabia Cuts Asian Oil Prices to Counter Rivals Russia, Iraq and Iran
Under pressure from Russian, Iraqi and Iranian oil exports, Saudi Arabia discounted its crude last weekend to maintain its share of big Asian markets. The price cut, which applies to September purchases, comes after two years of high-volume pumping by Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer. The kingdom had chosen to feed an oil glut and see prices drop rather than sacrifice sales to international rivals. But in Asia—the main source of oil-demand growth recently—Saudi Arabia has continued to lose ground. Last Sunday, it dropped its prices for Asian customers by between 70 cents and $1.30 a barrel (depending on the grade of oil), helping drive the global crude price below $42 a barrel. That was the deepest price cut since October last year. “The cuts were done to make sure Saudi Arabia remains competitive against sellers from the Middle East and Europe,” says a person familiar with […]
U.S. Adds 255,000 Jobs in July; Unemployment Rate Steady at 4.9%
U.S. employers hired at a steady pace in July, a sign of underlying strength for the labor market despite a host of mixed economic signals. Nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 255,000 last month , the Labor Department said Friday. Revisions showed U.S. employers added 18,000 more jobs in May and June than previously estimated. The unemployment rate, calculated from a separate survey of American households, was unchanged at 4.9% in July. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected employers would add 179,000 jobs in July alongside an unemployment rate of 4.8%. Hiring figures have been strong for two consecutive months, though readings were choppy earlier in the year. So far in 2016 employment gains have averaged 186,000 per month, down from 229,000 per month in 2015. A slowdown wouldn’t be […]
