Oil & Gas Prices - Sept 3

[dan_s]

Trading Economics:

WTI Oil
"WTI crude oil futures fell below the $71 per barrel mark on Tuesday, the lowest since the start of January as muted demand magnified the impact of relatively ample supply. New data from China exacerbated concerns that economic growth from one of the world’s largest oil consumers is unlikely to bounce back this year, with key gauges of domestic factory demand dropping more than expected in August. This was echoed by earnings data from major Chinese oil producers and refiners reflecting lower fuel demand with Sinopec, PetroChina, and CNOOC releasing underwhelming revenue, aligning with earlier ship-tracking data that reflected lower inflows of oil supertankers to the country. Stateside, data from the EIA showed that US oil consumption in June dropped to its lowest seasonal level since 2020. In the meantime, OPEC signaled that it will follow through with earlier signals of higher OPEC+ output in the fourth quarter, making up for lower production in Libya."

HH Natural Gas
"US natural gas futures rose toward $2.2 per MMBtu amid fresh signs of robust demand for gas-intensive demand for cooling. The country’s Midwest region saw record-high temperatures over the weekend, with over 60 million people receiving alerts for intense heat, increasing activity for air conditioners. In the meantime, investors continued to assess domestic levels of gas supply for the year following a slowdown in LNG exports. US LNG plants shipped 26 cargoes during the week that ended August 28th, as pipeline deliveries decreased from the prior week, aiding domestic availability, and coinciding with a fresh shutdown in Texas’s Freeport LNG export plant for routine maintenance. In the meantime, US utilities added a smaller-than-expected 35 billion cubic feet of natural gas to storage for the week ending August 23, the same as in the previous period. This build pushed storage levels 12.1% above the five-year average, reflecting an ongoing supply surplus."

Most of the trading in oil and gas futures contracts is done by computers. Big sell orders at the open trigger stop loss trades by computers. When selling reaches a support level, the prices normally reverse in the afternoon.

[aja57]

Frankly this says it all.

https://x.com/EnergyCynic/status/1830926479925956885