Futures for the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 shuffled between small gains and losses before the opening bell today, the Associated Press reports.
Crude prices have fallen every day but one this week, and drillers are getting hit hard as potential economic headwinds raise anxiety once again over a recession.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil dropped another 91 cents to $83.31 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange early this morning, a day after tumbling almost 6% — the biggest drop in just over a year. Crude has now declined more than 11% since topping $93 last week. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 82 cents to $84.99 per barrel.
Crude prices fell after the Energy Information Administration reported a 4.6 million barrel increase in commercial petroleum products. Inventories of gasoline rose to above average, and the margins refineries can charge for their finished product is under pressure.
Energy companies slid again today, with shares in major producers Exxon, Chevron, BP, and ConocoPhillips all down between 3% and 6% this week.
Economists and investors view demand for oil and gas as an indicator of broader economic health. When demand for energy products trails off, it often means broader demand for other products and services is also in decline. The upside is that lower energy costs would relieve inflationary pressures that have led central banks to keep interest rates high.
Stocks have struggled since the summer under the weight of soaring Treasury yields in the bond market. High yields undercut stock prices by pulling investment dollars away from stocks and into bonds. They also crimp corporate profits by making borrowing more expensive.
Wall Street is also absorbing the ousting of Kevin McCarthy as the speaker of the House of Representatives, though the unprecedented move likely doesn’t change much in the short term, with funding for the U.S. government set until Nov. 17.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 148.90 Japanese yen from 149.02 yen.
