By Jim Jelter, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Oil and gas stocks fell Monday, trimming some losses but not enough to overcome a drop in oil prices after China hiked interest rates over the weekend, a move seen as cooling the nation’s economy and its appetite for energy.
The NYSE Arca Oil Index (XOI 1,189, -3.08, -0.26%) fell 0.3% to close at 1,189.18 points, carving into last week’s gains. Spain’s Repsol YPF SA (REP 27.41, -0.31, -1.12%) led percentage decliners in the group, off 1.1% at $27.41 a share, while France’s Total SA (TOT 52.85, -0.41, -0.77%) fell 0.8% to $52.85.
Shares of Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A 66.08, +0.40, +0.61%) led the few gainers in the group, up 0.6% to $66.08. The stock is up 9.9% for the year to date, putting it on track to end the year among the top-performing European oil companies. Total is down 18% and BP PLC (BP 43.97, -0.03, -0.07%) is down 24% since Jan. 1.
Crude for February delivery fell 51 cents to $91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from an overnight high of $91.88. See the latest on energy futures.
News that China raised its one-year lending rate by a quarter-percentage point carried far more weight in the energy sector than the blizzard on the East Coast, which traders dismissed as a temporary event unlikely to make a serious dent in fuel supplies.
The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index (XNG 595.79, -1.93, -0.32%) slipped 0.3% to 595.79 points, taking their cues from the futures market. The February natural-gas contract, which becomes the front month Tuesday, fell nearly 8 cents to $4.05 per million British thermal units on forecasts of warmer weather across the East Coast next week.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index (OSX 240.02, -2.08, -0.86%) fell 0.8% to 240.02 points, with Weatherford International (WFT 22.12, -0.54, -2.38%) leading decliners on a 2.4% drop to $22.12 a share.
The service-sector index, though recently lagging others in energy, is heading into the last week of the year up 21% from where it stood at the end of 2009, twice the gains posted by the Arca oil index.
