The story of the day is about oil. February contracts for Brent crude are trading at $98.03 per barrel, up 74 cents as of 10:15 a.m. EDT. The U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) is trading at $91.85 per barrel, up 42 cents. Brent crude is used primarily in Europe. The drive to $100 per barrel is due in part to severe winter conditions in Europe.

Here in the U.S., the Alaskan Pipeline, which has been closed since Saturday, has reopened but at a reduced rate. U.S. stockpiles fell 1.4 million barrels from, 335.3 million in the week ended January 7. This data was based on 17 analysts polled by Bloomberg News.

Continue reading Brent Crude Oil Trading at $98.00 per Barrel

Brent Crude Oil Trading at $98.00 per Barrel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. Futures Trading Lower Ahead of Economic Data

U.S. Futures Trading Lower Ahead of Economic Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Options Update: Oil Services Volatility Increases with Drilling Uncertainty originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading BP Thrives as Oil Sector Gets Shaky

BP Thrives as Oil Sector Gets Shaky originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 May 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) closed at $74.43. Crude oil futures are recently down 0.67% to $78.37, according to Bloomberg. Barron's says, "The stock could hit 90 in the next year." December option implied volatility is at 21, January is at 23; below its 26-week average of 26, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price fluctuations.

Lorillard (LO) closed at $79.77. Lorillard will be presenting at Morgan Stanley's Global Consumer Conference on Nov. 19. December and January option implied volatility of 27 is near its 26-week average of 29. Options were active on Nov. 16 with 23,488 contracts trading according to Track Data. Average daily volume is 970 contracts, according to IVolatility.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: Exxon Mobil volatility low on $78 oil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) closed at $11.74. YGE is scheduled to report Q2 EPS today. YGE August 12 straddle is priced at $1.65, September 12 straddle is priced at $2.90. YGE September option implied volatility of 100 is above its 26-week average of 91, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) closed at $50.46. Crude oil futures are recently up 0.61% to $68.70 according to Bloomberg. APC September option implied volatility is at 40, November is at 41; below its 26-week average of 51, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Options Update: Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: Yingli Green Energy volatility up into EPS originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) closed at $69.99. XOM is expected to report Q2 EPS on July 30. Crude oil futures are recently down .35% to $65.17, according to Bloomberg. August option implied volatility of 23 is below its 26-week average of 34, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price fluctuations.

Financial Select Sector-XLF overall volatility at 38; 26-week average is 60.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: Exxon Mobil volatility low into EPS and $65 oil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) closed at $69.27. Crude oil futures are recently up 1.09% to $59.14 according to Bloomberg. June option implied volatility of 29 is below its 26-week average of 40, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price fluctuations.

Ford (NYSE: F) said it will issue 300M shares of common stock in a public offering and use some of the money for a union-run medical trust and general corporate purposes. F has 2.9B shares outstanding. F closed at $6.08. F June option implied volatility of 91 is below its 26-week average of 120, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: Exxon Mobil volatility near eight-month lows as oil approaches $60 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 May 2009 08:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) plans to issue its Q2 earnings on January 5. MOS is hosting an analyst meeting on January 13, 2009. January option implied volatility of 96 is below a level of 121 in mid December and above its 26-week average of 90, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing movement compared to a two-weeks ago.

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) closed at $71.55 Monday. CVX is expected to report Q4 EPS on January 8. Crude oil futures are recently down 1.67% to $39.35 according to Bloomberg. CVX January option implied volatility of 44 is below a level of 60 from two-weeks ago and near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement compared to two weeks ago.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is scheduled to report Q4 EPS before the open on January 9. KBH January option implied volatility of 105 is below a level of 131 from two weeks and near its 26-week average of 100 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement compared to two weeks ago.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: Volatility decreasing into EPS reports; MOS, CVX, KBH originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) closed at $88.25 Thursday.

Crude oil futures are at $99.03 according to Bloomberg.

COP overall option implied volatility of 30 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risks.

NASDAQ 100 QQQQ overall implied volatility at 28; 26-week average is 25

Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options update 1-4-08: ConocoPhillips volatility flat as shares near record high originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), a gold mining company, is recently up 83 cents to $43.10. ABX has a market cap of $36.5 billion. ABX is expected to report EPS on November 1. Gold is up 1.15% to $763.90 according to Bloomberg. Dow Jones reported Blackmont lowered its rating to Hold from Buy. ABX November option implied volatility of 43 is above its 26-week average of 30 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) recently up $1.11 to $94.60. XOM will report EPS on November 1. Crude oil futures are up 1.34% to $84.81 according to Bloomberg. XOM November option implied volatility of 26 is near its 26-week average of 24 according to Track Data, suggesting slightly larger price fluctuations.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Option update: Exxon (XOM), Barrick Gold (ABX) volatility up on rallies originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) is recently trading up $1.46 to $35.93. GM and the United Auto Workers announced a tentative agreement on a new national contract. Alex Brown says, "this contract represents an inflection point for GM. We believe this should significantly improve competitiveness, cash flow, and valuation." GM October option implied volatility of 61 is above its 26-week average of 46 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is an integrated energy company with a market cap of $195 billion and quarterly June 2007 revenue of $56 billion. CVX closed at $91.88. CVX announced a program to acquire up to $15 billion of common stock over a period of up to three years. Crude oil futures are up 0.79% to $80.16, according to Bloomberg. CVX overall option implied volatility of 27 is above its 26-week average of 24 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risks.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Option update: GM volatility elevated into tentative UAW agreement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In recent months, light, sweet crude oil futures and natural gas futures have traced out a pattern similar to what occurred around the same time last year: the former rallied to new highs, while the latter drifted lower.

Yet only months later, the divergence between the two energy-related futures contracts corrected itself, with crude oil dropping precipitously and natural gas staging a modest rebound after briefly spiking down to fresh multi-year lows.

With the first part of the pattern seemingly repeating itself a year later, one might ask if we are poised to witness an instant-replay reversal-of-fortune in the period ahead?

If so, we may also see natural gas shares (as well as the Amex Natural Gas Index), which have lagged their oil sector counterparts (see the Amex Oil Index), staging a relative rebound.

Michael Panzner is a 25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets and the author of Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes and The New Laws of the Stock Market Jungle: An Insider's Guide to Successful Investing in a Changing World.

Oil vs. natural gas: temporarily out of whack...again? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.