SINGAPORE, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Oil fell for a second
straight session on Monday as peak gasoline use in top consumer
the United States waned with the end of the summer driving
season, while tepid growth in the services sector signalled
crude demand will be slow to pick up.
FUNDAMENTALS
* U.S. crude for delivery in October <CLc1> fell 29 cents
to $74.31 a barrel at 23:55 GMT, while ICE Brent crude <LCOc1>
shed 4 cents to $76.63.
* The New York Mercantiles Exchange, the home for U.S.
crude benchmark West Texas Intermediate, will, because of
Monday's U.S. Labor Day holiday, combine trades happening
Sunday evening, Monday and Tuesday into a single trading
session, with just one settlement by the close of Tuesday
trade.
* The U.S. non-manufacturing sector grew in August for an
eighth straight month, but at a slower pace than in July and at
a rate that was below expectations, according to an industry
report released on Friday. []
* Oil fell on Friday, driving prices to their third weekly
drop in four weeks as investors in the crude market shrugged
off equity rallies after a report showed U.S. employment
dropped far less than expected and private hiring was a
positive surprise. []
* Money managers cut net-long positions in crude oil on the
New York Mercantile Exchange for a fourth consecutive week, an
indication that investors are decreasing bets that prices will
rise. The net-long positions tumbled to 71,495 in the week to
Aug. 31, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on
Friday, from almost 134,000 in the week to Aug. 3.
[]
* The remnants of Tropical Storm Gaston looked very likely
to strengthen again as a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic and
could threaten the Caribbean's Leeward Islands in coming days
as the system moves on a westward track, U.S. forecasters said
on Sunday. []
* The National Hurricane Center gave Gaston, which weakened
to a remnant low-pressure area on Thursday soon after initially
becoming a tropical cyclone, an 80 percent chance of
redeveloping over the next 48 hours. It was still too early to
determine whether the system would eventually reach the
oil-rich Gulf of Mexico.
* The U.S. driving season runs from the Memorial Day
holiday in late May to the Labor Day holiday in early
September. U.S. gasoline demand accounts for more than 10
percent of the world's oil use. Refiners are set to decrease
the amount of crude they process in coming weeks as they enter
autumn maintenance, in preparation to crank up output of winter
fuels.
MARKETS NEWS
* Stocks jumped and commodities rose on Friday after data
showing fewer U.S. job losses than expected reinforced other
reports to ease fears the American economy is on the cusp of a
new recession. []
* Asian stocks looked set to gain on Monday in the wake of
the Wall Street gains. []
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Monday, GMT:
- Euro zone Sentix index for September; 0830
RELATED NEWS
- Hurricane Earl made landfall in Canada on Saturday and
fizzled after a series of scares along the U.S. East Coast,
flooding roads, felling trees and cutting power to tens of
thousands in the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia.
[]
PRICES
Oil prices as of 2354 GMT
Contract Mnth Price Change Day ago pct MA-20*
NYMEX Contracts
US Crude OCT0 $74.31 -0.29 -$0.42 -0.56% $75.06
Heat Oil OCT0 205.32 -0.41 -0.50 -0.24% 202.29
RBOB OCT0 191.81 -0.14 -0.21 -0.11% 193.96
Natgas OCT0 $3.895 -0.044 +$0.188 +5.01% $4.055
ICE Contracts
Brent OCT0 $76.63 -0.04 -$0.26 -0.34% $75.95
Gasoil SEP0 $646.75 +7.75 -$0.75 -0.12% $641.93
Note: U.S. heating oil and RBOB gasoline contracts listed in
cents per gallon.
* = 20-day moving average for continuation month.
(Reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa, Editing by Himani Sarkar)
