NYMEX-Crude eases eyeing bank tests, storm Bonnie |

Reuters
* Oil eases ahead of Europe bank stress test results * Tropical Storm Bonnie nears Gulf of Mexico,
supports oil * Coming up: CFTC positions data Friday, 3:30 p.m. EDT NEW YORK, July 23 U.S. crude
oil futures fell back from an11-week high reached earlier on Friday, amid uncertainty over bank
stress testresults in Europe. Oil markets also were eyeing Tropical Storm Bonnie, expected to move
intothe Gulf of Mexico and reach Louisiana on Sunday. Crude futures surged 3.5 percent on
Thursday on supportive economic datathat also fueled a rally in equities markets. FUNDAMENTALS
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September crude CLU0 fell 71cents, or 0.9 percent, to
$78.59 a barrel at 8:41 a.m. EDT (1241 GMT), tradingfrom $78.54 to $79.60, the highest frontmonth crude price since prices reached$80.39 on May 6. * Thursday's $79.30 a barrel settlement
was the highest close since pricesended at $79.97 on May 5. * Tropical Storm Bonnie is expected to
make landfall on the Louisiana Coastnear New Orleans on Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane
Center said. The NHCcontinued to project Bonnie would not strengthen into a
hurricane.[ID:nN23267844] * Iran will switch to currencies other than euros and dollars for
paymentof its oil exports, a senior Iranian official was quoted on as saying by thesemi-official Mehr
news agency. [ID:nLDE66M0FF] * PetroChina (0857.HK) has diverted the Very Large Crude Carrier
"FrontKathrine" to Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates after discharging justabove half its
crude cargo in China, according to shipbrokers and AIS trackingdata. [ID:nSGE66M0AW] *
PetroChina is also in talks to divert more VLCCs from fire-hit Dalianport to Sinopec which operates
refineries in eastern and southern China, tradesources said. ECONOMIC DATA * German July IFO
business sentiment index posted a record jump to 106.2,its highest level in three years, from 101.80,
besting consensus forecasts for101.6. MARKET NEWS * The euro rose on Friday after the German
Ifo index came in aboveforecasts, but analysts said there were downside risks for the currency,
evenif bank stress test results were benign. [FRX/] [MKTS/GLOB] * Gold rose towards $1,200 an
ounce in Europe on Friday, supported bydollar weakness, as a retreat in risk aversion led to a return
of the twoassets' usual inverse relationship. [GOL/] UPCOMING DATA/EVENTS * The European
Union's publication of euro-zone bank stress tests onFriday. * U.S. Commodities Futures Trading
Commission weekly report on moneymanagers' positions at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT)8:41 LAST
NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO CHNG CHNG VOL VOLCLc1 78.59 -0.71 -0.9% 78.54
79.60 34,778 322,410CLc2 78.94 -0.70 -0.9% 78.9 79.94 8,613 81,213RBc1 2.1248 -0.0218 -1.0%
2.1241 2.1574 1,936 27,119RBc2 2.1200 -0.0209 -1.0% 2.1193 2.1519 4,419 35,169HOc1 2.0483 0.0141 -0.7% 2.0475 2.0742 1,668 34,515HOc2 2.0741 -0.0154 -0.7% 2.0734 2.1018 2,949
38,342TECHS LAST MA-30 MA-90 Boll up Boll dn RSI-30 Imp VolCLc1 78.58 76.23 78.1 80.02 72.13
55.2 32.77RBc1 2.1248 2.0600 2.1800 2.1900 1.9700 45.25 34.23HOc1 2.0483 2.0900 2.0800
2.2000 1.8300 46.18 33.33 * NYMEX crude oil for September CLc1 fell 71 cents to $78.59 a barrel
by8:41 a.m. in volume of 34,782 lots.(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by Alden Bentley)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/07/23/markets-energy-nymex-idUSN2331836020100723