•Jun crude oil prices this morning are down 39 cents but gasoline is up 0.50 cents. Crude oil is seeing some continued downward pressure from yesterday's rise in crude oil inventories to a 21-1/2 year high. Crude oil and gasoline prices on Wednesday sold off fairly sharply: CLM12 -0.94, RBM2 -0.0214. Bearish factors included the weak ADP report and the 2.84 mln barrel rise in U.S. crude oil inventories to a new 21-1/2 year high. Crude oil inventories are now 6.9% above the 5-year seasonal average, the highest level relative to the 5-year average since last May. The market found little support from news that gasoline and distillate inventories continued to fall and were tighter than expected. Gasoline inventories fell by 2.009 mln bbl (vs expectations of -1 mln bbl) and distillate inventories fell by 1.903 mln bbl (vs expectations of +500,000 bbl). Gasoline prices were also hurt yesterday by technical weakness after falling to a new 2-1/2 month low.
Today's U.S. Earnings Reports
Earnings reports (sorted by mkt cap): KFT-Kraft (consensus $0.56), AIG-AIG (1.13), APA-Apache (3.07), GM-General Motors (0.85), PSA-Public Storage (0.82), AMT-American Tower (0.41), VIAB-Viacom (0.89), EP-El Paso (0.28), VNO-Vornado Realty (0.83), PGN-Progress Energy (0.65), SRE-Sempra Energy (0.65), CAH-Cardinal Health (0.88), WYNN-Wynn Resorts (1.42), CI-Cigna (1.30), SLE-Sara Lee (0.25), CF-CF Industries (4.95), ESV-Ensco (1.16), TDC-Teradata (0.56), HCA-HCA Holdings (0.98), MU-Northeast utils (0.67).
Global Financial Calendar
Thursday 5/3/12
United States
0830 ET Weekly initial unemployment claims expected -11,000 to 377,000, previous -1,000 to 388,000. Weekly continuing claims expected -7,000 to 3.308 million, previous +3,000 to 3.315 million.
0830 ET Q1 non-farm productivity expected -0.5%, Q4 +0.9%. Q1 unit labor costs expected +2.7%, Q4 +2.8%.
0830 ET USDA weekly exports.
1000 ET Apr ISM non-manufacturing composite index expected -0.7 to 55.3, Mar -1.3 to 56.0.
1030 ET Apr ICSC chain store sales, Mar +4.1% y/y.
1030 ET DOE natural gas storage.
