Crude oil futures slip ahead of U.S. supply data, FOMC decision

              Crude oil futures declined on Wednesday, as traders looked ahead to the release of key U.S. weekly supply data while awaiting the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s monetary-policy meeting.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD97.51 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.7%. 

New York-traded oil futures traded in a range between USD97.41 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD98.20 a barrel.

The December contract ended 0.49% lower on Tuesday to settle at USD98.20 a barrel.

Oil futures were likely to find support at USD95.95 a barrel, the low from October 24 and resistance at USD98.80 a barrel, the high from October 28.

Oil traders were awaiting data from the U.S. government on oil and fuel supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world’s largest oil consumer.

The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 2.3 million barrels in the week ended October 25, while gasoline inventories were forecast to fall by 140,000 barrels.

After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories increased by 5.9 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles rose by 740,000 barrels.

U.S. crude prices have been on a downward trend in recent weeks amid concerns the recent U.S. government shutdown created a drag on economic growth and eroded demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.

The Fed is scheduled to conclude its two-day policy-meeting later Wednesday, with market analysts expecting the central bank to keep its USD85 billion-a-month asset-purchase program on track in order to safeguard the faltering economic recovery.

Data released on Tuesday showed that U.S. consumer confidence dropped to a six-month low of 71.2 in October from a reading of 80.2 in September, as concerns over the U.S. government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis weighed.

The U.S. was to release data on private sector payrolls later Wednesday, ahead of the U.S. employment report for October, due for release on November 8.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery dipped 0.2% to trade at USD108.80 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD11.29 a barrel. - investing.com

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Gold futures little changed in rangebound trade ahead of Fed

               Gold prices were little changed on Wednesday, as market players looked ahead to the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later in the day.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,345.10 a troy ounce during European morning trade, down 0.03%. 

Prices traded in range between USD1,338.70 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,348.40 a troy ounce. 

The December contract ended 0.5% lower on Tuesday to settle at USD1,345.10 a troy ounce.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,329.50 a troy ounce, the low from October 23 and resistance at USD1,361.70, the high from October 28.

The Fed is scheduled to conclude its two-day policy-meeting later Wednesday, with market analysts expecting the central bank to keep its USD85 billion-a-month asset-purchase program on track in order to safeguard the faltering economic recovery.

Data released on Tuesday showed that U.S. consumer confidence dropped to a six-month low of 71.2 in October from a reading of 80.2 in September, as concerns over the U.S. government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis weighed.

The U.S. was to release data on private sector payrolls later Wednesday, ahead of the U.S. employment report for October, due for release on November 8.

Gold traders have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases.

Prices of the precious metal have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the Fed would start tapering its USD85-billion-a-month asset-purchase program by the end of the year.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery rose 0.85% to trade at USD22.68 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery rallied 1.2% to trade at USD3.317 a pound. - investing.com

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Crude Oil futures trade lower after tepid U.S. data

        Crude Oil futures traded lower during Wednesday’s Asian session as traders in the region digest another batch of mediocre U.S. economic data. 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for December delivery fell 0.56% to USD97.65 per barrel in Asian trading Wednesday. The December contract settled down 0.49% at USD98.20 per barrel on Tuesday. 

In U.S. economic news out Tuesday, the Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence dropped to 71.2 in October from an upwardly revised reading of 80.2 in September. Analysts were expecting the index to fall to 75.0 this month. 

The Commerce Department U.S. retail sales fell 0.1% in September, while core retail sales, which exclude transportation items and gasoline, rose 0.4%, both in line with expectations.

Separately, the Labor Department reported that the country's producer price index contracted 0.1% in September, defying gains for a 0.2% gain. 

Earlier Tuesday, British oil giant said its net profit fell to $3.5 billion in the third quarter from $5.28 billion last year. The company said it plans to sell $10 billion in assets before the end of 2015. BP produced 3.17 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the quarter. 

In other oil news, reports out Tuesday evening indicated U.S. policymakers are considering new sanctions against Iran that could slash the OPEC member’s oil exports by 50% over the next year. 

Since the beginning of 2012, U.S. and European sanctions have already cut Iran's oil exports to about 1 million bpd from about 2.5 million bpd, Reuters reported. 

Elsewhere, Brent futures for December delivery fell 0.20% to USD108.60 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

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Gold lower ahead of Fed announcement

              Gold futures traded lower during Wednesday’s Asian session as traders await the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting later Wednesday. 

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery fell 0.15% to USD1,343.50 per troy ounce in Asian trading Wednesday. The December contract settled lower by 0.50% at USD1,345.50 per ounce on Tuesday. 

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,310.10 a troy ounce, the low from Oct. 22, and resistance at USD1,361.70, Monday's high. 

Gold was glossed over even amid slack U.S. data points. In U.S. economic news out Tuesday, the Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence dropped to 71.2 in October from an upwardly revised reading of 80.2 in September. Analysts were expecting the index to fall to 75.0 this month. 

The Commerce Department U.S. retail sales fell 0.1% in September, while core retail sales, which exclude transportation items and gasoline, rose 0.4%, both in line with expectations.

Separately, the Labor Department reported that the country's producer price index contracted 0.1% in September, defying gains for a 0.2% gain. 

While the recent batch of U.S. data has not been terrible, it has been tepid enough to stoke speculation the Fed has no choice but to keep its USD85 billion-per-month quantitative easing program in place. 

The central bank has previously said tapering of its bond-buying program is not tied to a fixed schedule, but rather to the quality of U.S. data points. 

Elsewhere, Comex silver for December delivery fell 0.08% to USD22.473 an ounce while copper for December delivery lost 0.07% to USD3.278 per ounce. - investing.com

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Natural gas prices fall on mild weather forecasts

            Natural gas prices extended Monday's losses into Tuesday as updated weather-forecasting models continued to call for mild temperatures to settle in across the eastern half of the U.S. for the middle of November.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in December traded at USD3.620 per million British thermal units during U.S. trading, down 1.13%. 

The commodity hit a session low of USD3.611 and a high of USD3.684.

The December contract settled down 3.96% at USD3.661 per million British thermal units on Monday.

Futures were likely to find support at USD3.557 per million British thermal units, Thursday's low, and resistance at USD3.869, the high from Oct. 16.

Weather-forecasting models on Tuesday continued to predict that currently cool temperatures in the Midwest and Eastern U.S. will give way to largely mild temperatures over the next six to 10 days.

Milder temperatures cut into the need for heating or air conditioning this time of year, lowering demand for natural gas at the nation's thermal power generators.

Meanwhile, U.S. supply levels also remained in focus. Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.741 trillion cubic feet as last week, 2.4% below last year's unusually high level but 2.1% above the five-year average for this time of year.

Early injection estimates for this week’s storage data range from 20 billion cubic feet to 43 billion cubic feet, compared to a 66 billion cubic feet increase during the same week a year earlier.

The five-year average for the week is a build of 57 billion cubic feet.

Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in December were down 0.57% and trading at USD98.12 a barrel, while heating oil for December delivery were down 0.13% and trading at USD2.9604 per gallon. - investing.com

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