U.S. Natural Gas Weekly – December 3, 2010
Working gas in storage fell 23 Bcf from previous week. Consensus was at -29 Bcf.
To repeat: I expect large draws in following weeks.
Afternoon Reading – December 2, 2010
Jean-Claude Trichet and ECB doing nothing, QE, central bankers and World Cup hosts…
Pending Home Sales Index Rose 10.4% In October
Pending home sales index rose 10.4% in October vs. fall of 1.8% in September. On year level, the index is down 20.6%,
ECB Disappoints
No real change in ECB policy and measures.
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims At 436.000; Up 26.000
nitial jobless claims in the U.S. were reported at 436.000. The consensus was at 424.000, last week revised (up 3.000) reading was at 410.000.
Improving, but slower than markets expects.
Morning Reading – December 2, 2010
QE2 bad for emerging markets?; Spain debt problems, ECB bond buying or not; Improving employment in the U.S. and top economic forecasters.
U.S. Petroleum Weekly – December 2, 2010
Crude oil stocks rose 1.0 million barrels; Gasoline stocks were up 0.6 million barrels; Distillate stocks were down 0.2 million barrels; Propane/propylene stocks fell 1.1 million barrels; Other oils stocks decreased 3.5 million barrels; Total crude oil and petroleum stocks were unchanged for the week.
Refinery utilization fell 2.9% to 82.6%.
Implied crude oil demand fell 0.5 million barrels.
Crude oil and petroleum product net imports fell 0.9 million barrels to 8.5 million barrels.
No other comment than that demand is week, stocks are high since the start of last recession and this is not changing or improving.
Evening Reading – December 1, 2010
Euro crisis, FED liquidity (poor Lehman), Goldman turning bullish, Beige Book, U.S. motor vehicle sales…
U.S. Construction Spending Rose 0.7% In October
U.S. construction spending rose 0.7% October vs. -0.4% consensus and revised (down -0.2%) 0.7% rise in September. On year level we are at -9.3%.
Revisions are so big that one can’t rely on this data. This is useless.
November ISM Manufacturing Index At 56.6
ISM Manufacturing Index was reported at 56.9 vs. prior reading of 56.9 and consensus of 56.5.
Kind of disappointment having in mind (mostly) healthy bounces in regional manufacturing surveys.
Peripheral Europe Bond Spreads Down On Hope Of Increased ECB Bond Purchases
Looks like meltdown is averted; ECB will probably announce further bond purchases on it’s tomorrows Governing Council meeting.
Portugal managed to sell €500 of 12-month bills at bid-to-cover ratio of 2.5 times despite S&P negative credit watch issued yesterday.
Waiting for another ride in a few months…
Morning Reading – December 1, 2010
China and OECD leading indicators, Portugal on negative credit watch and Euro crisis….
MBA Mortgage Applications Down 16.5%
MBA mortgage applications fell 16.5% on the back of declining refinancing; Prior reading was an increase of 2.1%; On year level MBA Basic Index is down 0.8%…
ADP Employment Rose 93.000 In November
ADP Employment rose 93.000 in November vs. revised (up 12,000) gain of 70,000 in October. Consensus was at +70,000. Nonfarm payrolls on Friday (rule of thumb) could be close to or maybe little short of a 168.000 consensus.
Challenger Job-Cuts For November At 48,711
Challenger’s count of layoff announcements was reported at 48,711 in November vs. 37,986 in October.
For the time being I expect positive employment report on Friday. Concerning Challenger Job-Cuts: a slightly negative surprise.