Strong economic fundamentals in the past days have largely alleviated some of the recent double dip recession fears, with manufacturing activity expanding in the US and China while US pending home sales unexpectedly jumped by 5.2%. The market now braces itself for what is expected to be a glum monthly jobs report in order to gauge the health of the US labor market.

Crude futures have also been influenced over the week by extreme weather activity in both the Atlantic and Caribbean. While Hurricane Earl veered away from oil production-prone areas in the Gulf of Mexico, it still has potential to disrupt petroleum refineries and seaports along the east coast, while also dampening demand over a typically busy driving weekend.

Fri, Sep 3 2010, 06:42 GMT
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