Crude oil’s slide accelerated on Friday, as a poor jobs report added to a list of concerns on energy traders’ mind, ranging from the European debt crisis and OPEC’s increased output, to the looming higher margin requirements.
Crude is trading at $97.89 a barrel at Nymex, down 4.5%. Friday’s plunge will extend oil’s loss to a third session, leaving the market with a total loss of 8%.
The selloff started on Wednesday as the EIA weekly report showed a record level of oil in storage, and later intensified as CME Group, which operates the Nymex exchange, said it would hike margin requirements for speculators from next week. The fears didn’t phase out, even after CME said it had received a 90-day reprieve from the regulator. Adding to downward pressure on oil prices was the revelation by OPEC secretary general Abdullah al-Badri on Thursday that the organization is “not happy with prices at this level because there will be (demand) destruction.” Oil exporting countries are working hard to bring down oil prices by pumping much more oil than its official target, he added.
The last straw for oil bulls came Friday morning as the Labor Department reported that job growth slowed again in April to 115,000 jobs, the smallest increase since October, which has further stoked worries over energy demand.
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Fuck that oil!
$ERY 11.08…..9.33