PERTH, Sept 5 (Reuters) – U.S. crude futures were steady in
early trading in Asia on Wednesday, underpinned by hopes that
central banks will act to stimulate the global economy after
weak U.S. economic data pressured prices in the previous
session.
FUNDAMENTALS
* NYMEX crude for October delivery rose 3 cents at
$95.33 a barrel by 0103 GMT, after closing lower at $95.30.
* London Brent crude for October delivery fell 18
cents at $114.00.
* Weak U.S. manufacturing data for August and a reported
drop in construction spending in July weighed on oil and helped
pressure equities on Wall Street.
* U.S. jobs growth likely cooled in August with the elevated
unemployment rate remaining stuck as businesses worried over an
uncertain economic outlook, an outcome that could potentially
seal the case for a further easing of monetary policy, according
to a Reuters survey.
* U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stopped short
of signaling extra monetary easing was imminent during his much
anticipated speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, last week, but kept
the door open for action if needed.
* France and Italy applied more pressure on the European
Central Bank on Tuesday to agree steps to reduce crippling
borrowing costs for southern euro zone states. The ECB is
expected to outline rather than detail its strategy on Thursday.
* The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said
high global oil prices are a cause of concern, although crude
markets were better supplied than those for refined fuels.
* Germany and Italy remain opposed to a release of consumer
country emergency oil stocks, arguing world markets are amply
supplied despite lower Iranian crude output.
* More than 710,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil production
remained offline, the U.S. government said, just over 50 percent
of Gulf of Mexico offshore output. So far, the storm has shut in
a total of 10.5 million barrels of oil production since Aug. 25.
[ID: nL2E8K43SN]* U.S. commercial crude oil and refined product stockpiles
were forecast to have fallen last week as Hurricane Isaac
disrupted oil production, imports and refinery activity in the
Gulf Coast region, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
MARKETS NEWS
* The euro dipped slightly against the dollar in early Asian
trading on Wednesday but was seen supported before Thursday’s
European Central Bank meeting at which the ECB is expected to
unveil details of its long-awaited debt-buying plan.
* Asian shares and the euro eased on Wednesday, with
investors waiting for a European Central Bank meeting on
Thursday and U.S. payrolls on Friday for signs of more action to
counter European debt woes and support growth.
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Tuesday: (Time in GMT)
0130 Australia GDP yy Q2
0758 EZ Markit Services PMI Aug
0900 Euro zone Retail sales for July
1145 U.S. ICSC chain store sales
1230 U.S. Revised productivity and unit labor cost Q2
1255 U.S. Redbook weekly retail sales
2030 U.S. API weekly crude stocks Weekly
2030 U.S. API weekly dist. stocks Weekly
2030 U.S. API weekly gasoline stk Weekly
(Reporting by Rebekah Kebede; Editing by Ed Davies)
