A Capitol One Southcoast Inc. analyst has lowered his long-term natural gas price forecast and raised his estimate on oil prices, citing business conditions in the energy markets.
* Mexico sees stronger growth in wake of U.S. recovery * Raises forecast for 2010 oil export price to $65/barrel
SOYBEANS SINK: Soybean prices plummeted 3.4 percent after the Agriculture Department predicted another record crop in 2010 and said stockpiles were are larger than expected.
Soybeans led a big sell-off in grains trading Wednesday after the government reported that stockpiles of beans are larger than expected. The Agriculture Department also said 2010 looks to be another record year of production.
Eskom, South Africa s state run energy supplier, needs to urgently expand its generating capacity, but environmental groups are opposed to such a massive investment in coal.
European steel makers on Wednesday demanded an EU antitrust probe to check for monopoly abuse and cartel-type behavior by the three major iron ore suppliers Vale, BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto after price increases of more than 80 percent.
The Obama administration announced a plan on Wednesday to allow offshore drilling for oil and gas in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, marking a shift in US energy policy.
Oil futures trade just below $83 a barrel, as a smaller-than-expected build in crude inventories and the U.S. dollar s drop against other currencies buoy sentiment.