Oil falls despite positive U.S. jobs data

                  CrudeOil futures traded lower in the early part of Friday’s Asian session despite another positive data point pertaining to the U.S. labor market. 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for June delivery fell 0.34% to USD96.06 per barrel in Asian trading Friday after settling down 0.63% at USD96.01 a barrel on Thursday in the U.S. 

Oil traded lower despite some decent U.S. data points. In U.S. economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 18,000 last week to a five-year low of 324,000. Analysts expected a reading of 345,000 claims. 

Separately, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $38.8 billion in the first quarter. 

The buoyant jobless claims number comes on the heels of last Friday’s stronger-than-expected April jobs report out of the world’s largest economy. With the U.S. labor market apparently improving, traders speculated that the Federal Reserve may begin winding down its quantitative easing program. 

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. economy added 165,000 nonfarm payrolls in April, up from 138,000 in March, whose figure was revised up from 88,000. April's figures far outpaced analysts' forecasts for a 145,000 figure. 

Elsewhere, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping that a nuclear Iran could disrupt global oil supply. China is the world’s second-largest oil consumer behind the U.S. 

Meanwhile, Brent futures for June delivery rose 0.18% to USD104.29 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange. - investing.com

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Gold falters on dollar strength

           Gold futures fell in the early part of Friday’s Asian session as traders digested some strong data out of the U.S. while embracing the U.S. dollar. 

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery fell 0.90% to USD1,455.35 per troy ounce in Asian trading Friday after down 0.33% at USD1,468.85 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Thursday. 

Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,440.55 a troy ounce, Tuesday's low, and resistance at USD1,475.55, Wednesday's high. 

In U.S. economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 18,000 last week to a five-year low of 324,000. Analysts expected a reading of 345,000 claims. 

Separately, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $38.8 billion in the first quarter. 

The buoyant jobless claims number comes on the heels of last Friday’s stronger-than-expected April jobs report out of the world’s largest economy. With the U.S. labor market apparently improving, traders speculated that the Federal Reserve may begin winding down its quantitative easing program. 

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. economy added 165,000 nonfarm payrolls in April, up from 138,000 in March, whose figure was revised up from 88,000. April's figures far outpaced analysts' forecasts for a 145,000 figure. 

The Fed has pledged to keep interest rates low until the unemployment drops another 1%. 

Analysts are also pointing to increased physical demand out of Hong Kong and China as catalysts that could be supportive of gold in the coming months. 

Elsewhere, Comex silver for July delivery dropped 1.23% to USD23.618 while copper for July delivery fell 0.14% to USD3.328. - investing.com

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Natural Gas erases losses from supply data, weather forecasts support

               Natural gas futures erased losses sustained earlier Thursday after investors looked past bearish supply data and snapped up nicely priced positions on sentiments that warmer weather will hike demand for air conditioning.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in June traded at USD3.981 per million British thermal units, up 0.06%.

The commodity hit a session low of USD3.890 and a high of USD4.018.

Natural gas prices dropped 2% earlier after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended May 3 rose by 88 billion cubic feet, above expectations for an increase of 83 billion cubic feet.

Inventories rose by 30 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week is a rise of 69 billion cubic feet.

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.865 trillion cubic feet as of last week. Stocks were 737 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 99 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 1.964 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.

The report showed that in the East Region, stocks were 109 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, following net injections of 52 billion cubic feet. 

Stocks in the Producing Region were 40 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 805 billion cubic feet after a net injection of 31 billion cubic feet.

Rising temperatures forecast for the coming weeks should hike demand for natural gas in the country's power plants as households and businesses crank up their air conditioning.

Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in June were down 0.53% and trading at USD96.11 a barrel, while heating oil futures for June delivery were up 0.50% at USD2.9293 per gallon. - investing.com

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