Crude oil prices cruised to their highest level of 2010 Wednesday (March 10) morning, before quickly reversing, as speculators consider new data on the level of crude supplies released by the Energy Information Administration.
The price of a barrel of crude for April delivery reached as high as $83.03 early Wednesday morning as speculators applauded the new data that showed a 1.4 million barrel increase in crude last week for a 343 million barrel total inventory level.
According to the Platts survey of analysts, the expectation had been for 2.1 million barrels. …

Oil is among the winners following the surprisingly strong unemployment report released by the government on Friday (March 5). Jobless claims and unemployment numbers both came in lower than expected for February according to the Labor Department.
US employers slashed just 36,000 jobs during the month of February compared to a forecast of 50,000. Unemployment held steady at 9.7 per cent compared to analysts predictions of a small increase to 9.8 per cent.
Friday’s data supports recent analyst comments that the economy finally is in recovery with a confirmation of …

A positive report on jobs Wednesday (March 3) showed a slight increase in the number of employed workers in the US. This was a strong enough sign to prompt some analysts to suggest unemployment and a bad jobs market could be bottoming out.
The solid economic news was enough to drive oil prices higher despite the latest Energy Information Administration report that shows relatively high levels of crude stockpiles in the US. With more employed people, the market expectation is that demand by businesses and consumers for oil-based products …

The news of a prospective Greek bail-out plan put together by France and Germany may well go some way to soothe investor concerns about a sovereign default in Europe and has gone some way to stabilising the Euro in the short term, especially against sterling which has undergone a torrid last 7 days.
Under the plan as much as €30bn worth of Greek debt would be purchased in the form of bonds, through their respective state owned banks, but there will be onerous strings attached as the Greeks will have …

The dollar has been firming up in the last several weeks, thanks in large part to growing expectations of a tighter monetary policy leading to higher interest rates. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tried to reassure Americans and quash some of those assumptions with his comments to Congress about the economy Wednesday (February 24).
Bernanke says he anticipated interest rates remaining low to give the still recovering economy and uncertain housing sectors time to grow. While he still seems very optimistic about the direction of things, Bernanke did seem …

The Fed made a move Thursday (February 18) to boost the emergency loan rate that it charges banks from .50 per cent to .75 per cent. While the Central Bank says the hike in its “discount” rate is not going to affect consumers, it is widely believed that this is just the first in several moves to return lending rates to normal as the economy improves.
Definitely a sign that the Fed appears comfortable that the worst of the economic downturn is over, the rate hike decision sparked a boost …

Gold prices have been on the rebound in the last two weeks after touching a near-term low at price on February 5th of $1,052.25. With a current (February 17) gold spot rate of $1,114.70 per ounce, the commodity has increased in worth by over $60 in 12 days.
Though down slightly from yesterday’s New York Mercantile Exchange gold price close of $1,117.80, gold is still up around $15 from the February 15th close price of $1,099.50.
Gold has historically moved inversely with the value of the dollar, which held true during …

The US Commerce Department reported Friday (February 12) morning that January retail sales grew by .5 per cent, which was higher than the .3 per cent forecasted by analysts. Wal-Mart and other big department stores were seen as the major catalyst for the growth, which suggests a more conventional increase in consumer spending on retail purchases.
Currency speculators jumped on the news by investing in more dollars relative to foreign currencies including the Pound, Euro and Yen. They apparently see this news as another sign that the US economy …

The US dollar has started February in the same vein that it finished January, buoyed by evidence of US economic recovery, after Friday’s GDP numbers, and fears that China will implement measures to control its economic growth.
The dollar has also remained supported over sovereign debt concerns in, not only Greece, but also Spain and Portugal as the dollar index traded at its highest levels since July last year. These fears are being compounded by widening spreads differentials between 10 year German ,and Greek and Portuguese bonds.
EURUSD - the Euro has …