Energy Prospectus

When the markets opened:
WTI is down 70c to $53.78/Bbl, and Brent is down 64c to $59.06/Bbl.
Natural gas is up 2.0c to $2.292/MMBtu.

EIA's weekly report on petroleum products comes out at 10:30AM ET on Wednesdays.

WTI spikes to over $55/bbl on short-covering rally after EIA reports a large decline in oil + refined product inventories.

Closing prices:
WTI prompt month (DEC 19) was up $1.49 on the day, to settle at $55.97/Bbl.
NG prompt month (NOV 19) was up $0.010 on the day, to settle at $2.282/MMBtu.

An unexpected draw from U.S. crude oil and refined product inventories caused a short-covering rally today. Best news is that refiners are coming out of maintenance season and should be drawing down crude more rapidly going forward. Distillate inventories (diesel and home heating oil) are dangerously low and refiners need to ramp up production because winter weather is coming next week. See forecast maps at: https://www.wunderground.com/ndfdimage/ ... &region=us

The December natural gas contract closed at $2.433/MMBtu.

If WTI stays over $55/bbl it will be back into the trading channel that was in place for several months prior to the September 14th drone attack on Saudi Arabia. If that pattern is re-established, it points to $60/bbl by year-end.