Natural gas fall on forecasts for mild autumn weather across U.S.

                  Natural gas prices fell on Friday after weather reports continued to call for mild temperatures across much of the eastern U.S. through the first half of November.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in December traded at USD3.532 per million British thermal units during U.S. trading, down 1.38%. 

The commodity hit a session low of USD3.511 and a high of USD3.578.

The December contract settled down 1.08% at USD3.581 per million British thermal units on Thursday.

Futures were likely to find support at USD3.482 per million British thermal units, the low from Oct. 4, and resistance at USD3.869, the high from Oct. 16.

Updated weather forecasting models called for normal to above-normal temperatures for much of the eastern U.S. through Nov.15.

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.

Inventory data released on Thursday also pressured prices lower.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended Oct. 25 rose by 38 billion cubic feet, higher than forecasts for an increase of 36 billion cubic feet.

Inventories rose by 66 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week is a build of 57 billion cubic feet.

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.779 trillion cubic feet. Stocks were 120 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 58 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 3.721 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.

The report showed that in the East Region, stocks were 91 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, following net injections of 17 billion cubic feet. 

Stocks in the Producing Region were 102 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 1.161 billion cubic feet after a net injection of 18 billion cubic feet.

Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in December were down 1.44% and trading at USD94.99 a barrel, while heating oil for December delivery were down 2.03% and trading at USD2.8940 per gallon. - investing.com

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Crude falls on fears of U.S. supply glut, stronger dollar

            Crude Oil prices fell on Friday as U.S. supply concerns continued to overshadow a string of positive U.S. economic indicators suggesting recovery is picking up and will hike demand for fuel and energy.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD94.91 a barrel during U.S. trading, down 1.53%. 

The commodity hit a session low of USD94.70 and a high of USD96.65. The December contract settled down 0.40% at USD96.38 a barrel on Thursday.

Oil futures were likely to find support at USD92.73 a barrel, the low from June 24 and resistance at USD98.80 a barrel, the high from Oct. 28.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Thursday that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 4.1 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 25, well above expectations for an increase of 2.3 million barrels. 

Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 383.9 million barrels, the highest level since June.

The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories declined by 1.7 million barrels, compared to expectations for a drop of 140,000 barrels.

Concerns that demand may be improving but failing to make a serious dent in supplies pushed prices lower despite advancing economic indicators.

In the U.S., the Institute of Supply Management's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index  rose to 56.4 in October from 56.2 in September, defying expectations for a decline to 55.0. 

The report came a day after data showed that manufacturing activity in the Chicago region expanded at the fastest rate in 30 years in October, while a separate report showed that U.S. initial jobless claims fell in line with expectations last week.

Meanwhile, a stronger dollar, the product of advancing U.S. economic indicators, softened oil prices as well.

A strong greenback makes oil less attractive on dollar-denominated exchanges.

Meanwhile on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery were down 2.04% at USD106.62 a barrel, up USD11.71 from its U.S. counterpart. - investing.com

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Gold drops as dollar gains on expectations for end of Fed stimulus

                 Gold prices dropped on Friday after an advancing U.S. factory gauge stoked already growing expectations for the Federal Reserve to begin winding down stimulus measures in the coming months.

Stimulus measures such as the Fed's USD85 billion monthly bond-purchasing program weaken the dollar to spur recovery, making gold an attractive hedge. 

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,310.00 during U.S. afternoon hours, down 1.03%.

Gold prices hit a session low of USD1,305.80 a troy ounce and high of USD1,327.30 a troy ounce.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,251.10 a troy ounce, the low from Oct. 15, and resistance at USD1,361.70, Monday's high.

The December contract settled down 1.90% at USD1,323.70 a troy ounce on Thursday.

In the U.S., a widely-watched factory barometer beat expectations and fanned expectations for the Federal Reserve to scale back dollar-weakening stimulus programs in the coming months, which sent the dollar rising.

The Institute of Supply Management's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose to 56.4 in October from 56.2 in September, defying expectations for a decline to 55.0. 

The report came a day after data showed that manufacturing activity in the Chicago region expanded at the fastest rate in 30 years in October, while a separate report showed that U.S. initial jobless claims fell in line with expectations last week.

Expectations for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates possibly next week bruised the euro and sent the dollar rising even further, which exacerbated gold's losses.

On Thursday, official data revealed that the euro zone's consumer price index rose 0.7% in October, the slowest pace since November 2009, after rising 1.1% in September, while the unemployment rate came in at a record high 12.2% in September.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery was up 0.05% at USD21.877 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery was up 0.04% and trading at USD3.302 a pound. - investing.com

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