Futures Movers
Aug. 8, 2011, 10:30 a.m. EDT
Oil futures tank after S&P downgrade
Investors flee oil, other energy markets after U.S. credit ratingâs cut
By Claudia Assis and Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) â Crude-oil futures fell sharply on Monday, shedding more than 3% as Standard & Poorâs downgrade of the U.S. credit rating reinforced worries about the economic outlook.
Continuing whatâs been a major pullback, crude for September delivery (NMN:CL1U) dropped $3.03, or 3.5%, to $83.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract earlier hit an intraday low of $82.52 a barrel, according to FactSet Research data.
âFurther losses can be expected in the near term, as financial investors should reduce risk positions on the back of high risk aversion and the uncertain economic outlook,â said Commerzbank analysts in a note.
Standard & Poorâs late Friday took the unprecedented step of downgrading the U.S. credit rating by one notch to AA+, and assigned it a negative outlook.
Investors sought a safe haven in gold futures, which rallied above $1,700 an ounce. Wall Street opened sharply lower, and Asian and European stocks also got clobbered.
In a reseach brief Monday, analysts at Goldman Sachs noted âheightened uncertainty around the commodity outlook.â
However, âseveral factors are leading us to keep our constructive commodity views over the next year intact, including still-high expectations of global GDP growth sufficient to tighten key commodity markets, expected strong growth in [emerging markets] ... and commodity supply disappointments that have substantially offset if not dominated demand disappointments in key markets,â they said.
For oil, âitâs only a matter of time before inventories and [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] spare capacity become effectively exhausted, requiring higher oil prices to restrain demand,â the analysts added.
Other energy products tracked oil lower, with heating oil leading the way. The September contract (NMN:HO1U) lost 6 cents, or 2%, to $2.88 a gallon. September gasoline (NMN:RB1U) declined 4 cents, or 1.7%, to $2.76 a gallon.