Oil & Gas Prices - May 26

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dan_s
Posts: 34465
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2010 8:22 am

Oil & Gas Prices - May 26

Post by dan_s »

Opening Prices:
> WTI is up $0.86 to $111.19/bbl, and Brent is up $0.65 to $114.68/bbl.
> Natural gas is up 22.5c to $9.196/MMBtu. < What is stunning about this is that May is the month with the lowest demand for natural gas in the U.S.

AEGIS Notes
Oil


The U.S.'s top envoy to the Iran nuclear talks, Robert Malley, said that efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are unlikely and that the chances of reaching a deal are "tenuous at best" (BBG)
> Malley added that he believes the U.S. and its EU partners may provide a small sanctions relief package in exchange for Iran's nuclear program being rolled back, which could save the deal
< Meanwhile, negotiations to reach the deal have stalled since March, and other diplomats have cautioned that progress is becoming increasingly unlikely

The EU can still reach an agreement on a Russian oil embargo in the next few days or resort to "other instruments" if no agreement is reached said Germany's economy minister, Robert Habeck, during G7 talks on Thursday
> The European Council is set to meet on May 30 and its President, Charles Michel, said on Wednesday that he believes an agreement may be reached before then
> Hungary, on the other hand, continues to be a stumbling block to the EU sanctions needed for consensus, insisting on energy investment before supporting the Russian ban

Natural Gas

Natural gas futures are up above $9 for the second consecutive session, as it heads for expiry < A lot of this is "short covering" as traders who sold shorts, expecting the price of gas to go down in May are getting hammered.
> Weather forecasts were unchanged, with the total lower-48 population-weighted temperature average (1-15 day range) rising 0.3°F
> Lower-48 dry gas production is steady at around 95.3 Bcf/d, which is only 0.3 Bcf/d higher than last week, while LNG feedgas nominations are still above 13 Bcf/d
> The EIA is expected to report an injection of 90 Bcf < The 5-year average build for the week ending May 20 is 101 Bcf.
> Estimates ranged from 80 to 103 Bcf, according to the Wall Street Journal
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
dan_s
Posts: 34465
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2010 8:22 am

Re: Oil & Gas Prices - May 26

Post by dan_s »

Trading Economics:
"Crude oil prices surged on Thursday to above $114 per barrel, approaching a 14-year high of $125 a barrel hit in March amid tight supply. On Wednesday, EIA data showed a larger-than-expected drawdown in US crude inventories last week due to soaring exports, highlighting a tight global market. Meanwhile, EU continues to haggle with Hungary over banning oil imports from Russia with European Council Charles Michel saying Wednesday he is confident that an agreement can be reached before the council’s next meeting on May 30th. Hungary is pressing for funds of about €750 million to upgrade its refineries and expand a pipeline from Croatia to enable it to switch away from Russian oil. Still, the demand outlook remained clouded amid varying degrees of Covid restrictions in China and lingering concerns about inflation leading to a global economic slowdown."
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
dan_s
Posts: 34465
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2010 8:22 am

Re: Oil & Gas Prices - May 26

Post by dan_s »

Closing Prices:
> Prompt-Month WTI (Jul 22) was up $3.76 on the day, to settle at $114.09
> Prompt-Month Henry Hub (Jun 22) was down $-0.063 on the day, to settle at $8.908 < The JUN22 contract is expiring. It spiked to $9.401 on short covering then pulled back into the close. The contract more than doubled since the beginning of the year.
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
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