Energy stocks extended recent gains Friday on the back of continued strength in crude oil prices.
In early action, the Amex Oil Index ($XOI : 1,181.63, +10.30, +0.9% ) was up 1.1% at 1,184 points, the Amex Natural Gas Index ($XNG :462.72, +0.84, +0.2% ) was up 0.5% at 464.1 and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX :202.50, +1.05, +0.5% ) was ahead 0.5% at 202.5 points. Crude oil for April delivery was up 60 cents at $61.55 a barrel in New York as traders continued to push the commodity higher following Thursday's bullish Energy Department report on U.S. fuel inventories. The report showed an unexpectedly steep drop last week in the nation's gasoline and heating oil supplies.
Oil prices were also buoyed by simmering tensions between the United Nations and Iran over Tehran's refusal to abandon its nuclear research program. A flare-up in rebel fighting in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta added to the bullish sentiment. See Futures Movers.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK : 30.44, +0.86, +2.9% ) , which reported strong fourth-quarter earnings after the bell Thursday, was up 2.1% at $30.21 in brisk trade. See full story.
S&P downgraded Noble Energy Inc. (NBL : 58.49, -0.20, -0.3% ) Friday to hold from buy after the company missed Wall Street estimates on its fourth-quarter earnings. The stock was last trading at $58.42 a share, down 0.4%.
Among the oil index heavyweights, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM : 75.39, +0.31, +0.4% ) was ahead 0.3% at $75.29 a share, Chevron Corp. (CVX : 71.09, +0.42, +0.6% ) was up 0.3% at $70.88, and ConocoPhillips (COP :67.63, +0.75, +1.1% ) was up 0.9% at $67.51. Global Industries, Ltd. (GLBL :13.92, +0.34, +2.5% ) announced that one of its subsidiaries landed a $100 million offshore pipeline and platform jacket construction contract in the Middle East. The news pushed Global shares 2.7% higher to $13.95, making it the biggest percentage gainer so far Friday in the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.
Crude touches high of $61.75; futures back in black in 2007
By Ciara Linnane
Crude-oil futures climbed to a high of $61.75 a barrel Friday, putting the front-month April contract in the black for the year to date. Futures closed at $61.05 a barrel on the last trading day of 2006, but fell to a low below $50 a barrel in early January.
The contract was last up 65 cents at $61.60, buoyed by data that showed a bigger-than-expected decline in heating-fuel supplies in the latest week, tensions related to Iran's nuclear program and violence in Nigeria.
The contract was last up 65 cents at $61.60, buoyed by data that showed a bigger-than-expected decline in heating-fuel supplies in the latest week, tensions related to Iran's nuclear program and violence in Nigeria.
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