Oil & Gas Prices - July 18

[dan_s]

Trading Economics
WTI Oil
WTI crude futures steadies around $82.5 per barrel on Thursday after a 2.6% rise the previous day, the biggest daily gain in over a month.
> EIA data showed US crude stocks fell by 4.87 million barrels to the lowest since February, surpassing forecasts of a 0.8 million barrel drop. This is the third consecutive weekly decline, the longest stretch of stockpile reductions since September.
> In Canada, wildfires threatened 400,000 barrels a day of oil production, risking shipments to the US and boosting Canadian heavy crude prices.
> US data showed initial jobless claims rising the most since early May. This job market slowdown, coupled with recent inflation moderation, supports the Federal Reserve's case to cut rates as early as September. Lower rates can stimulate economic activity and increase oil demand.

U.S. Natural Gas / Henry Hub front month contract AUG24
US natural gas futures rose over 3.5% to above $2.10/MMBtu, rebounding from a 10-week low after the EIA reported a smaller-than-expected storage injection.
> US utilities added 10 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas into storage last week, below the expected 28 Bcf increase, bringing total stockpiles to 3,209 Bcf, 16.9% above the 5-year average.
> Despite this, natural gas prices are set for a 9% drop this week due to milder weather forecasts and a reduction in feedgas to LNG export plants.
> Gas flows to US LNG export plants fell to 11.6 bcfd so far in July, down from 12.8 bcfd in June, mainly due to Freeport LNG's shutdown and recent reductions at Cheniere Energy's Corpus Christi facility. Both export facilities were impacted by hurricane Beryl.
> Looking ahead, meteorologists predict near-normal weather across the Lower 48 states through July 24, followed by hotter-than-normal conditions through August 1.