Crude Oil Soars to Near-Record Highs!
Lead month September Crude Oil surpassed the $78 per barrel mark this afternoon, as traders look for continued strong world demand. In the U.S., expectations for an increase in refinery utilization should result in another drawdown of Crude inventories last week. Current expectations for tomorrow's EIA energy stocks report are for Oil inventories to have fallen by 700,000 barrels last week, as refineries are expected to have operated at 92.4% capacity. RBOB Gasoline and Heating Oil futures also posted sharp gains, despite estimates that product inventories increased by 1.1 million and 1.4 million barrels, respectively. Technical Crude traders are looking at the all-time highs of $78.40 for the nearby contract as a key resistant point, with the potential for $80 barrels if fresh buying emerges above this level. Support is seen at the 20-day moving average of $74.50. September Crude Oil closed at $78.21, up $1.38.
October Sugar rallied sharply this morning, as commodity fund and trade-house buying emerged in electronic trading before the opening of the pit session. Near-record highs for Crude Oil futures were also seen as a supportive factor for Sugar, as high energy prices may spur increased demand for cane-based ethanol. Floor sources report some producer selling around 10.30 in the October contract, but fund buying absorbed the sell orders as prices closed near the highs of the session. Spread trading was active on the screen, with over 23,000 October/March spreads traded. The next resistance point for October Sugar is seen at 10.53, with support found at Monday's lows of 9.91. October Sugar closed at 10.33, up 0.31.
