Archive for February 2nd, 2010

Oil up in Asian trade

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Tuesday as bullish US manufacturing data combined with gains in Asian equities markets to push the market up, analysts said.

New York”s main futures contract, light sweet crude for March delivery, broke past the 75 dollar-level in morning trade, gaining 58 cents to 75.01 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March was up 63 cents to 73.74 dollars.

Strong numbers reported by the US Institute of Supply Management (ISM) on Monday showing a surge in manufacturing activity in January, as well as advances on Asian equities markets, inspired crude traders, analysts said.

“Oil pricing continues to gain primarily based on the past day”s financial increases in equities and the good manufacturing news out of the US,” said Victor Shum, senior principal of Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore.

The ISM said its manufacturing index, also known as the purchasing managers index, climbed to 58.4 percent in January, the best number since 2004 and well ahead of the 50 percent that indicates growth.

Rises in Asian equities markets also added steam to the crude rally, with major bourses such as the Hang Seng and Nikkei-225 indexes heading up in morning trade, Shum added.

Crude prices would likely hover around current price levels in the week ahead, he said.

“In the near term, pricing will likely stay around the mid-70s level. When we see more signs of economic recovery, prices will creep back to 80 dollars but that might be in a few weeks,” Shum added.

Obama”s 2010 budget deficit soars to record $1.56 trln

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Monday projected the U.S. budget deficit would peak at a fresh record in 2010 before easing as he pushes for fiscal responsibility while battling double-digit unemployment.

Dubbed an old-style liberal tax-and-spender by his Republican opponents, Obama is under pressure to convince investors and big creditors like China that he has a credible plan to control the country”s deficit and debt over time.

“In the long term, we cannot have sustainable and durable economic growth without getting our fiscal house in order,” Obama said in a statement with the budget”s formal release.

His budget for the fiscal year to Sept. 30, 2011, a blueprint that is subject to change by the U.S. Congress, forecast a deficit of $1.56 trillion in 2010, or 10.6 percent of the economy measured by gross domestic product (GDP).

The rise was partly due to the $787 billion stimulus package Obama pushed through Congress early last year to fight the recession.

Republicans seized on the grim fiscal forecast to criticize Obama”s handling of the economy.

Senator Judd Gregg, the leading Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, warned that the country was sinking into a “quagmire” of debt and said Obama”s stimulus plan had failed to create jobs.

“These circumstances call for a bold, game-changing budget that will turn things around, put in place a plan to restrain spending, reduce the debt and tackle the big entitlement programs that are growing out-of-control,” he said. “Instead, the president has sent us more of the same.”

Dollar surges to record level of over Rs85

KARACHI: Dollar climbed to a record level at over Rs85 in the Interbank here on Monday.

According to forex market dealers, demand for dollar witnessed a substantial rise in Interbank market today, as banks purchased around 300 million dollars. This, at one stage, pushed the dollar price to Rs85.20.

The economic experts said that the current account deficit saw a decline of 78 percent during July to December compared to the previous year.

Stock market begins week with selling

KARACHI: The local equities market began the week with selling, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index slipped 23 points to close at 9,591 on Monday.

The investors, adopting caution in view of the increasing value of dollar, preferred to off-load their holdings.

The trade volume was recorded at 130 million shares.

Lotte Pakistan topped the list of volume leaders, gaining paisas 19 to finish the day at Rs11.54.

KSE-30 Index slashed 36 points to peg at 10,020.

The market analysts believe the selling pressure might persist in the next one day or two.

Oil prices turn higher

LONDON: Oil prices climbed on Monday, reversing earlier losses caused by worries over weak demand, analysts said.

New York”s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, gained 30 cents to 73.19 dollars a barrel at about 1000 GMT after dipping by a similar amount during Asian trading hours. Brent North Sea crude for March rose 33 cents to 71.79 dollars.