Could Also Spell Trouble

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The U.S. labor-market report will further erode investor confidence" - Markus Allenspach, head of bond research at Julius Baer Group Ltd. European stocks extended weekly losses, after a report showed U.S. companies added fewer jobs than expected in April. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index erased 1.76 per cent to 253.00. Germany’s DAX Index tumbled 1.99 per cent and France’s CAC 40 Index contracted 1.90 per cent. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index lost 1.93 per cent to 5,655.06. USD "We’re still very much on the recovery path, but we’ve got a huge amount of ground to make up in the labor market" - Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. The number of Americans, who have found a job in the private sector in April, tumbled to 115,000 from 154,000 the ...

(Reuters) - Natural gas futures were about 4 cents, or 2 percent, lower early Thursday, edging off amid ongoing concerns over mild weather and expectations that weekly government storage data would show just a slight drawdown from record high inventories. Front-month April natural gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were at $2.242 per million British thermal units in early activity, down 4.2 cents, or a little less than 2 percent. On Tuesday the contract slid early to $2.204, the lowest price for a front month in just over 10 years. STORAGE OVERHANG A PROBLEM FOR PRICES Last week's gas storage report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed total domestic inventories fell to 2.433 trillion cubic feet, still at record highs for this time of year, and more than ...

(Reuters) - Natural gas futures were down about 2 cents, or 1 percent, early Wednesday, hovering just above Tuesday's 10-year spot chart low. Traders said continued mild late-winter weather has curbed any heating demand and left inventories swelled ahead of the spring injection season. Front-month April natural gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were at $2.276 per million British thermal units in early activity, down 2.3 cents, or 1 percent. On Tuesday the contract slid early to $2.204, the lowest price for a front month since February 2002, before ending the day up about 1 percent. In the cash market, gas bound for the NYMEX delivery point Henry Hub in Louisiana was heard early near $2.13 on volume near 799 million cubic feet, down 2 cents from Tuesday's average of $2.15 ...

Natural gas futures slid more than 2 percent early Tuesday, breaking to their lowest mark in just over 10 years, as a mild winter left inventories swollen at record levels. "Natural gas is a reflection of the current, and seemingly future, state of supply and demand. What else can possibly be said given the incredibly mild winter temperatures across most of the country, much less the exceedingly mild winter we're coming out of, that hasn't been said before," said Jay Levine, broker, energy, LLC in Portland, Maine. Front-month April natural gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were at $2.22 per million British thermal units in early activity, down 4.9 cents, or just over 2 percent, after sliding to $2.204 which marked a contract low and the cheapest price for a front month ...

(Reuters) - Natural gas futures seesawed on either side of positive territory early Thursday, as the market waited for government storage data due out later this morning for better directional signals. Many traders said concerns over still-bloated inventories and mild late-winter weather should weigh on prices already mired near 10-year lows. But others said a high number of nuclear power plant outages and planned production cuts should limit more losses. Front-month April natural gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were at $2.291 per million British thermal units in early activity, down 1.1 cents, after sliding as low as $2.283. The spot contract fell in late January to $2.231, the lowest price for a front month since March 2002, forcing some producers to announce ...

(Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers have called on the country's futures regulator to crack down on excessive speculation in oil markets as rising gasoline prices move to the forefront of the election campaign. In a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 23 senators and 45 members of the House of Representatives called on the agency to stop "dragging its feet" on implementing new regulations to stop Wall Street from dominating the oil market. Meanwhile, gasoline prices are soaring, despite plenty of supply and low demand, the lawmakers charge. "As the cost for American people to fill their gas tanks continues to skyrocket, the CFTC continues to drag its feet on imposing strict speculation limits to eliminate, prevent, or diminish excessive oil speculation," the members of ...

(Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures were about 3 to 4 cents higher early Tuesday, adding to Monday's gains amid forecasts for cooler weather in the Northeast and Midwest. Front-month March natural gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were at $2.583 per million British thermal units in early U.S. activity, up 3.3 cents. The front month fell in late January to $2.231, a contract low and the lowest price for a front month since March 2002, forcing some producers, such as Chesapeake Energy (CHK.N), to announce production cuts. In the cash market, gas bound for the NYMEX delivery point Henry Hub in Louisiana was heard early near $2.60 on volume near 498 million cubic feet, up 14 cents from Monday's $2.46 average. Early Hub cash deals were done at about a 3-cent premium to the ...

(Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund is playing a behind-the-scenes role in helping to resolve the euro zone debt crisis but stands ready to extend credit to troubled European economies if it is asked to do so, Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Friday. Lagarde, in Brazil on the last leg of a Latin American tour to drum up support for greater cooperation in addressing the global financial turmoil, also urged Europe to act swiftly to come up with a "collective, comprehensive" solution to the zone's debt and fiscal woes. Otherwise, she said, Europe runs the risk of sinking into a "lost decade" similar to the 1980s in Latin America, when a string of debt defaults from Brazil to Mexico plunged the region into a holding pattern of stagnant economic growth. Lagarde, who was ...

Not much action in the markets on Friday. It was a helluva week, though. At the beginning it looked like Europe wouldn’t make it to the end. Yields were rising to dangerous levels. Greece was clearly bankrupt. Italy would fall too, unless Germany came to the rescue. And investors weren’t too sure about France. But as the week progressed investors calmed down. Or, at least they got used to being frightened. “Maybe they’ll muddle through after all,” they said to themselves. And so the week ended. Nothing decided. Nothing resolved. More questions than ever. Now, almost everyone has come around to our way of seeing things. In report after report, we see economists and analysts conceding that we’re in for a long spell of trouble. Official reports and estimates show next year’s GDP barely ...