mines prices markets

After several days of moving to the upside, oil prices today were lower by nearly 2.5% after a weaker than expected jobs report put the brakes on the rally. Economists had been expecting the creation of somewhere between 100,000 and 125,000 new jobs ahead of the report from the Labor Department. The actual non-farm payroll number came in at a dismal 18,000 for June. In addition to the lower than expected June data, previously released reports from April and May were also revised downward. Oil futures were trading slightly above their session lows by early afternoon but buyers appeared reluctant to set in to the market to buy on the morning decline. Crude oil had traded close to $100 per barrel in Thursday’s session but concern over a stalling U.S economy caused prices to retreat to the $96 per barrel level by mid-day on Friday. Hiring stalled in The United States and unemployment ticked back up to 9.2%. Economists expect this to contribute to minimal demand

growth for fuel as consumers are forced to stick to a conservative budget and fewer workers will be making a daily commute.

Gasoline futures for August delivery dropped alongside oil prices in the NYMEX session to just over $3.05 per gallon. Unfortunately for consumers, prices at the pump were still moving higher as the gains from earlier in the week were still working their way through the system. While gas prices remained well below the three year high set back in May, average fuel costs were running nearly $1 per gallon higher than last year at this time. Any consumer relief from the current pullback in crude oil is expected to be brief as analysts anticipate that growing demand from China will ultimately lead to higher prices.

Another factor that could quickly offset any reduction in U.S. demand would be any type of production slowdown or supply disruption resulting from the Atlantic hurricane season that is now officially underway. While no major storms are imminent, it is always something to watch for during this time of the year. Any additional weakness in the dollar would also be likely to prop up commodities since they are all priced in U.S. dollars. The dollar fell against several major worldwide currencies including the Japanese Yen and the Swiss Franc. Any continuation of the decline in the dollar will help to provide support for the price of oil going forward. Gold and silver both traded higher today and many on Wall Street believe that the pullback in oil prices will be brief....SOURCES