• Oil prices turned positive again after government data showed a surprise drop in gasoline in storage that offset a huge rise in U.S. crude stockpiles. International Brent crude futures were trading at $55.54 per barrel up 49 cents, or 0.9 percent, from their previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $52.55 a barrel, up 38 cents, or…
Read MoreTag: oil prices
This Week’s Market Buzz
Light, sweet crude for delivery rose 44 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $53.19 a barrel during the Globex electronic session of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery added 48 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $55.56/barrel. Prices continue to swing back and forth around the low $50-a-barrel level, and traders continue to weigh the outlook for a…
Read MoreThis Week’s Market Buzz
• Oil prices are trending higher on news of Saudi supply cuts to Asia. Oil’s gains came despite government data showing a bigger-than-expected weekly build in U.S. crude and fuel inventories. Brent crude futures were up $1.60, or 3 percent, at $55.24 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were up $1.53, or 3 percent, at…
Read MoreFirst Look – October 2016
TOP NEWS Eagle Materials Expands Eagle Materials Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement with a subsidiary of Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., to purchase Cemex’s Fairborn, Ohio, cement plant, as well as related assets, which include a distribution terminal in Columbus, Ohio, and a cement bagging operation. U.S. Highways Rated The nation’s top-performing, most cost-effective highways are in South Carolina,…
Read MoreThis Week’s Market Buzz
Oil and gas companies using hydraulic fracturing are expected to continue to ramp up their use of frac sand in their drilling operations. According to Tudor Pickering Holt, drillers have stepped up sand use in order to make wells more productive, rising from 3 million lb. per well in 2013 to 5 million lb. per well in 2014, to 8…
Read MoreFrac Sand Insider Conference Draws Attendees; Protestors
Rock Products held its third Frac Sand Insider conference May 10-11 at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wis. Almost 300 people attended the event, which was highlighted by an educational program, expo and social events.
Read MoreFrac Fights Back
WITH OIL PRICES ON THE RISE, IS THE MARKET FOR FRAC SAND ABOUT TO HEAT UP AGAIN? By Mark S. Kuhar It’s all about oil prices. The dramatic drop in the price of a barrel of oil over the past year has had the frac sand industry scrambling to make ends meet. With drilling at a standstill, only wells currently…
Read MoreThis Week’s Market Buzz
Oil prices could move back above $50 a barrel within a year as an OPEC initiative to freeze production gains support, according to CNNMoney. That’s the view of Qatar’s energy minister, Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada, who also holds the rotating presidency of OPEC. “At the moment the best possible feasible proposal is to freeze at the level of production of…
Read MoreCaterpillar Looks for Market Rebound
Caterpillar Inc. announced 2015 fourth-quarter sales and revenues of $11.0 billion, down from $14.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014. Sales and revenues for full-year 2015 were nearly 15 percent lower than 2014 and 29 percent off the 2012 peak. The two most significant reasons for the decline from 2014 were weakening economic growth and substantially lower commodity prices, according…
Read MoreThis Week’s Market Buzz
Superior Silica Sands (SSS) announced that it will no longer pursue the construction of a silica sand processing facility in Independence, Wis. “This was a difficult but necessary decision,” said Rick Shearer, chief executive officer of parent company Emerge Energy and SSS. “Given current economic conditions affecting the frac sand industry as a whole, as well as the specific mining…
Read More