Oil & Gas Prices - June 9

[dan_s]

Opening Prices:
> WTI is down 44c to $37.75/Bbl, and Brent is down 56c to $40.24/Bbl.
> Natural gas is down 0.8c to $1.781/MMBtu.

Crude oil prices have made a strong run and consolidation is necessary in the upper $30s before the next leg up. As I have pointed out in my last two podcasts, traders are now looking hard at the U.S. refinery utilization rate. There is a lot of finished gasoline in inventory, but refiners need to ramp up to more than 90% utilization to meet summer demand for gasoline.

Closing Prices:
> WTI prompt month (JUL 20) was up $0.75 on the day, to settle at $38.94/Bbl.
> NG prompt month (JUL 20) was down $0.022 on the day, to settle at $1.767/MMBtu.

Tomorrow's EIA Petroleum Report is key. Traders are now focused on the refinery utilization rate as the key to increasing demand for crude oil.