Oil & Gas Prices - May 17
Posted: Fri May 17, 2024 5:54 pm
Trading Economics:
Oil
WTI crude futures firmed above $79 per barrel on Friday with the JUN24 NYMEX futures contract closing at $80.00/bbl.
> This week's gains, underpinned by recent declines in US crude oil inventories and growing optimism that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year.
> EIA data showed that US crude stockpiles fell by 2.508 million barrels last week, declining for the second straight week and exceeding forecasts for a 1.362 million barrel draw.
> April data also pointed to slowing US consumer inflation, boosting rate cut expectations from the Fed that could bolster economic growth and energy demand.
> Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency slashed its global demand growth forecast for this year by 140,000 barrels per day to 1.1 million.
> The latest OPEC report indicated that member countries exceeded their production cap by 568,000 barrels per day in April, but maintained solid demand projections of 2.25 million barrels per day in 2024 and 1.85 million barrels per day in 2025.
Natural Gas
Natural gas futures contracts continue to rally.
> The JUN24 NYMEX contract closed at $2.638/MMBtu, up over 5.7% on Friday.
> US natural gas futures rose to the highest close in four months, after EIA reported a smaller-than-expected storage build.
> US utilities added 70 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage last week, below market expectations of a 76 bcf increase. However, the report also showed US gas stockpiles are 30.8% above the 5-year average.
> On the other hand, US gas production is down about 10% so far in 2024 after several energy firms, including EQT and Chesapeake Energy, delayed well completions and cut back on other drilling activities.
> Looking ahead, weather forecasts indicate a shift to warmer-than-normal temperatures until May 31, leading to increased gas consumption by power generators to meet electricity demand for air conditioning.
> Also, gas flows to major US LNG export plants rose in May from April, with the return to full service of Freeport.
Oil
WTI crude futures firmed above $79 per barrel on Friday with the JUN24 NYMEX futures contract closing at $80.00/bbl.
> This week's gains, underpinned by recent declines in US crude oil inventories and growing optimism that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year.
> EIA data showed that US crude stockpiles fell by 2.508 million barrels last week, declining for the second straight week and exceeding forecasts for a 1.362 million barrel draw.
> April data also pointed to slowing US consumer inflation, boosting rate cut expectations from the Fed that could bolster economic growth and energy demand.
> Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency slashed its global demand growth forecast for this year by 140,000 barrels per day to 1.1 million.
> The latest OPEC report indicated that member countries exceeded their production cap by 568,000 barrels per day in April, but maintained solid demand projections of 2.25 million barrels per day in 2024 and 1.85 million barrels per day in 2025.
Natural Gas
Natural gas futures contracts continue to rally.
> The JUN24 NYMEX contract closed at $2.638/MMBtu, up over 5.7% on Friday.
> US natural gas futures rose to the highest close in four months, after EIA reported a smaller-than-expected storage build.
> US utilities added 70 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage last week, below market expectations of a 76 bcf increase. However, the report also showed US gas stockpiles are 30.8% above the 5-year average.
> On the other hand, US gas production is down about 10% so far in 2024 after several energy firms, including EQT and Chesapeake Energy, delayed well completions and cut back on other drilling activities.
> Looking ahead, weather forecasts indicate a shift to warmer-than-normal temperatures until May 31, leading to increased gas consumption by power generators to meet electricity demand for air conditioning.
> Also, gas flows to major US LNG export plants rose in May from April, with the return to full service of Freeport.