LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices fell $1 on Friday after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s warned it may cut the credit rating of top energy consumer the United States, capping a volatile week marked by concern about the country’s deficit and the euro zone’s debt.

Brent crude for September was down $1 to $115.26 a barrel by 0814 GMT, after the expiry of the August contract on Thursday at $118.32.

LONDON (Reuters) – Gold funds dominated a league table of commodity managers in the second quarter, but amongst the broad-based funds, it was those seeking returns uncorrelated with commodity price direction that did well after markets sold off heavily in May.

PIMCO’s CommoditiesPLUS Short Strategy fund topped a Lipper performance league table of more than 100 actively managed commodity funds, up 6.80 percent, whilst the DB Platinum V Hermes Absolute Return Commodity Fund came seventh, up 2.16 percent.

LONDON (Reuters) – Gold funds dominated a league table of commodity managers in the second quarter, but amongst the broad-based funds, it was those seeking returns uncorrelated with commodity price direction that did well after markets sold off heavily in May.

PIMCO’s CommoditiesPLUS Short Strategy fund topped a Lipper performance league table of more than 100 actively managed commodity funds, up 6.80 percent, whilst the DB Platinum V Hermes Absolute Return Commodity Fund came seventh, up 2.16 percent.

LONDON (Reuters) – Investors may increasingly look to market neutral and managed futures strategies for their commodity exposure if they want to avoid the higher positive correlations that commodities have shown with other asset classes since 2008.

Pension funds have steadily increased their exposure to commodities since 2005, in some cases allocating as much as 5 percent of their overall portfolio.

LONDON (Reuters) – Brent crude oil slipped more than $1 to around $111 a barrel on Friday after China’s factory output grew at its slowest pace in 28 months and as the market awaited tenders for sales from the IEA’s emergency oil stocks release.

By 7:07 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent crude futures were down $1.40 to $111.08 a barrel, off an intraday low of $110.67, and U.S. crude futures were down $1.06 at $94.36, after getting down to $94.18 a barrel.

LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) – Gasoline barge prices in
northwest Europe rose on Tuesday, following Brent crude oil
futures up as the market calculated the impact of the IEA’s
decision to release some 3.4 million barrels of gasoline in
Europe.

“It looks like (it will have a) very limited impact,” said
one gasoline broker.

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil’s deep sell-off paused on Friday as the impact of a surprise announcement of an emergency stocks release faded.

By 0859 GMT Brent crude futures were 24 cents higher at $107.50, while U.S. crude futures recovered 87 cents to $91.89.

LONDON (Reuters) – Demand growth in China and the Middle East in the second half of 2011 will require OPEC to add 1.43 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) to balance the market, according to a Reuters poll.

OPEC’s monthly report published in early June said world demand for its oil would average 30.7 million bpd in the second half, much higher than the 28.97 million bpd the 12-member group produced in May.

LONDON (Reuters) – Strategic, focused M&A activity is set to rise as oil majors seek to plug gaps in their portfolios, said leading investment bankers and fund managers attending a Reuters summit this week.

National oil companies (NOCs) will also continue to hunt for resources in the OECD as they seek resource security, with Canadian and U.S. gas plays expected to be in the spotlight, said energy market participants at the Reuters Global Energy and Climate Summit.

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil rebounded above $114 on Thursday, supported by bargain hunting after Brent’s second-largest drop in two years on Wednesday, but the trend was seen downwards given rising risk aversion and dollar strength.

Brent crude for August, the front-month contract after July expired on Wednesday, was up $1.03 cents to $114.04 a barrel by 1104 GMT, whilst U.S. crude was up 49 cents to $95.30 a barrel at the same time.