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The worst US GDP data for 26 years sent investors scurrying for the safety of gold, pushing the April futures contract up to $940, up $4.20 on the day.

US GDP fell by an annual rate of 6.3% in the final quarter of last year, worse than the initial read of 6.2% but better than consensus forecasts from economists of a 6.6% fall.

Meanwhile, the appeal of gold as a safe asset was further enhanced by news that the total number of US unemployed rose to a record 5.56m, although the dollars strength limited the extent of golds gains.

The oil price was also on the rise, with the April contract rising above $54 a barrel, reversing Wednesdays losses when the Energy Information Administration revealed that crude inventories rose by 3.3m barrels last week.

US crude oil settled almost $2 lower on Friday, settling under $53 a barrel as traders took profit on the previous sessions gains.

US light crude oil for May delivery fell $1.96 to settle at $52.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A decline on Wall Street, weak economic data, higher than expected weekly crude stockpile data and a stronger dollar also pressured oil prices. Weak retail sales data from Japan and grim US employment data renewed concern about the global economic outlook.

Otherwise crude has enjoyed six straight weeks of gains on hopes that fiscal stimulus from the US and other nations will help stimulate demand for oil.

Among precious metals gold fell on Friday as the dollar strengthened against major currencies. Gold for June delivery fell $16.90 to end at $925.30 an ounce.

Nymex $48.25 heading down oil stocks rising, demand falling, time to get out of oilies?

Maybe, maybe not h.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street, as financials dusted off the previous sessions losses and commodity stocks enjoyed a broad recovery.

Gains came despite economic data showing a slump in US house prices while a Consumer Confidence Index report showed a slight rise in March from the previous month.

US light crude oil for May delivery rose $1.49 to settle at $49.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The weaker dollar also underpinned demand for crude which had fallen by almost $4 a barrel in the previous session.

Overall sentiment was high on Tuesday as Wall Street posted its best monthly performance in six years.

After the massive profits producers were making with oil @ $100 plus, and those same producers now suffering due to reduced oil usage/lower oil price, I think it's only a matter of time before output is cut further, thus sqeezing the oil price upwards to around $70 - $80 this year, imo of course.
2517

Nymex back up to $50 halifax. Looks like you were wrong.

Make that $51. Looks to be heading up rather than down?

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after a weekly government report showed an increase in crude supplies.

Gloomy economic data also dented appetite for oil. According to the latest ADP employment index US private-sector firms slashed 742,000 jobs in March.

Meanwhile the Energy Department said crude supplies rose by 2.8m barrels over the last week bringing crude inventories to their highest level in 16 years although analysts had pencilled in an even bigger increase of around 3.2m barrels.

Supplies of gasoline rose by 2.2m barrels while distillates, used in domestic heating oil and diesel, rose by 300,000 barrels.

Oil prices fell by over $2 to a session low of $47.26 following the report but a rally on Wall Street stemmed bigger losses. US light crude oil for May delivery settled down $1.27 at $48.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil Rises Above $50 on Signs Economic Slump May Be Stabilizing
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By Grant Smith

April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose the most in two weeks, climbing above $50 a barrel on signs the world economy is stabilizing as leaders of Group of 20 nations meet in London to address the financial crisis.

OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri said at a conference in Paris oil prices are bottoming out, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its 2009 Brent forecast on evidence that demand destruction has peaked. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner yesterday noted encouraging signs of a recovery in financial markets.

Demand is not going to fall as much as some of the doom- sayers have been saying, said Gareth Lewis-Davies, an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Group Ltd. in London. What were seeing now is the rate of decline in demand in developed economies decelerating, which of course has to happen before a recovery.

Crude oil for May delivery advanced as much as $3.14, or 6.5 percent, to $51.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $50.95 a barrel at 12:32 p.m. in London. Oil is up 14 percent this year.

Stocks in Europe and Asia rallied, driving the MSCI World Index higher for a third day, while the Group of 20 summit convenes today in London. U.S. durable-goods orders and home sales rose in February, Chinese urban investment surged 26.5 percent in the first two months of the year, and German investor confidence in March reached its highest level since July 2007.

Inventories Rise

Youre seeing encouraging signs of improvement in our markets, Geithner said yesterday in a Bloomberg Television interview in London, where he is attending the meeting with President Barack Obama.

Still, other data is showing that global oil inventories are rising as fuel demand falters because of the recession.

U.S. crude inventories climbed 2.84 million barrels in the week ended March 27 to the highest since July 1993, the Energy Department said. Gasoline supplies unexpectedly rose by 2.23 million barrels to 216.8 million barrels.

Total daily fuel demand averaged over the past four weeks was 18.9 million barrels, down 4.4 percent from a year earlier, the report showed. It was the lowest consumption for a four-week period since October.

Goldman Sachs said Brent crude oil prices may reach $50 a barrel this year, up from an earlier estimate of $45, because of OPECs production cuts.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut oil output by 1.2 percent to an average 27.395 million barrels a day last month, according to a Bloomberg News survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. The 11 OPEC members with quotas, all except Iraq, pumped 25.06 million barrels a day, 215,000 more than their target of 24.845 million.

Ailing Economy

OPEC, in a meeting March 15 in Vienna, decided against cutting production targets further because of concern higher prices might harm an ailing global economy. Ministers pledged to tighten compliance with their quotas after crude oil fell more than $100 a barrel from the July record.

Brent crude for May settlement rose as much as $3.20, or 6.6 percent, to $51.64 a barrel on Londons ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $51.36 a barrel at 12:23 p.m. London time.

To contact the reporter on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 2, 2009 07:37 EDT

Oil prices jumped above the $50 barrier, tracking the gains seen in equities as hopes of an economic recovery gained momentum.

Much of the gains were achieved after leaders at the G20 summit in London agreed to a plan that puts the International Monetary Fund at the heart of efforts to kick-start the ailing global economy.

The G20 nations will make $750bn available for the IMF to rescue struggling economies, compared with $250bn previously.

Stocks jumped on the news and on changes in bank accounting rules.

Crude prices benefited because a recovery in the economy will increase demand for oil. US crude for May delivery ended the day up $4.25 at $52.64 a barrel.

$53/barrel now.

Crude settled lower on Friday after government data showed a further 663,000 Americans lost their jobs in March, bringing the total number of job losses during the recession to over 5m. The figure was more than analysts had expected.

The unemployment rate rose in line with market expectations to 8.5% from 8.1% in February, a 25-year high.

US light crude oil for May delivery fell 13 cents to settle at $52.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday.

Thursdays sharp rally, sparked by enthusiasm over the G20s promise of $1trn to boost lending and trade, however brought the contract slightly higher for the week.

Crudes decline on Friday was also stemmed by gains on Wall St, despite the jobs data, with many analysts explaining the downbeat data had already been factored into the market.

A decline on Wall Street, led by financials, hurt oil prices with US light crude oil for May delivery settling down $1.46 at $51.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Renewed concern about the outlook for financial companies pressured demand for oil as investors prepare themselves for the start of the first quarter earnings season.

Results are expected to be disappointing and it was this trepidation and renewed concern about the economic outlook that took oil prices lower. Earlier Monday crude for May fell to a low of $49.81 a barrel.

In recent weeks oil prices have enjoyed solid gains on hopes that the worst of the economic downturn is now over and government stimulus should bring a recovery. However as optimism faltered Monday, so did oil prices.

Gold also fell as the dollar rose and investors sought out riskier investments. Comex gold for June delivery fell $24.50 to settle at $872.80 an ounce, marking its third day of consecutive declines.

Crude oil moved below $50 a barrel on Tuesday as Wall St experienced its second day of declines as jitters over the first quarter earnings season set in.

Disappointing results from Alcoa and comments from billionaire financier George Soros that Marchs rally will not last had investors heading for the door.

US light crude for May delivery settled down $1.90 at $49.15 after dropping to a low of $48.89 earlier in the session.

Expectations that there will be another build in crude oil inventories also pressured demand for the black stuff amid weak demand. Analysts are expecting data from the US Energy Information Administration to show a further 1.9m barrel rise in crude stocks. Supplies are already running at a 16-year high.

The strengthening dollar also hurt demand for oil.

US crude oil prices rose on Wednesday after a weekly government report showed a smaller than expected rise in crude supplies.

Crude inventories rose by 1.7m barrels in the week ended 3 April, according to the Energy Information Administration. Analysts had pencilled in an increase of 2.3m in crude stockpiles.

Gains on Wall St also lifted demand for oil as investors shrugged off gloomy comments from the Federal Reserves minutes and a weak session for banking stocks.

US light crude oil for May delivery settled up 23 cents at $49.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract had started the day on weak footing at a low of $47.37 but after the release of the weekly energy report, prices marched higher.

The report also showed gasoline stockpiles rose by 600,000 barrels, less than the 1.5m barrels predicted by analysts. Meanwhile distillates fell by more than expected. Supplies fell by 3.4m barrels despite predictions of a 600,000 barrel decrease.

when is the monthly completion date? has it passed?[ i think it is around the 20th of the month[ is this the reason for the drop in oil price today?
Alex

Last Wed was May expiry if I remember rightly, it followed markets lower today despite a couple of Iran/Korea rumours over weekend

Bunch of stuff on oil here: Good site and new. http://www.tradinghelpdesk.com

Sorry was talking rubbish re. May expiry,it's tomorrow
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/reuters/2009/04/20/2009-04-20T180812Z_01_SYD428032_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-OIL-UPDATE-9.html

US crude futures soared past the $50 a barrel level again on Friday, taking its cue from higher equities.

Better-than-expected results gave stocks a boost and raised hopes that the worst of the economic problems may be over, which will increase the demand for oil.

Also giving a helping hand was the weaker dollar, as crude is traded in the US currency. The euro moved ahead against the dollar, which also fell against the Japanese yen.

Crude for June delivery settled up $1.93 to $51.55 a barrel.

Gold prices rose for the third day in a row on Friday due to the weaker dollar and after China revealed its gold holdings