July Crude Oil prices trended higher during the NYMEX trading session, helped by a rally in global equity markets and setback in the US dollar. Meanwhile, some traders were cautious in the face of building US supply and lackluster demand. However, some traders are now of the opinion that supply and demand fundamentals could tighten up during the summer time. July Crude Oil prices broke out to their highest level since May 6th during.
Natural gas: It now appears that the temps are moving into the 90s daily across the SE quarter of the U.S., an area that has a lot of NG fired power plants that come on each summer to insure the region has enough electricity of AC. As temperatures increase across the country the demand for natural gas goes higher and higher. I am expecting a couple more large storage builds as Shoulder Season drifts to an end BUT I think NG storage levels will stay below the 5-year average. This means natural gas prices should stay over $4.00 and drift up to $5.00 as winter approaches.
Oil and Gas Prices - May 20
Oil and Gas Prices - May 20
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group
Re: Oil and Gas Prices - May 20 (22update)
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Oil falls ahead of U.S. government supply dataOil prices pare losses during Bernanke testimony
MARKETWATCH 12:47 AM ET 5/22/2013
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures fell Wednesday as traders braced for a U.S. government update on petroleum inventories following a trade group report that showed an unexpected rise in weekly crude inventories.
Prices, however, significantly pared losses after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in testimony to Congress, implied that the central bank won't be tapering off its bond purchases soon.
The U.S. government's Energy Information Administration will issue its weekly report on petroleum supplies at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Crude for July delivery lost 38 cents, or 0.4%, to $95.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was down around $1 ahead of Bernanke's testimony. On Tuesday, the June at the close of trade.
Investors received an update late Tuesday that oil supplies rose in the week ended May 17. The American Petroleum Institute said crude inventories increased 532,000 barrels, though analysts polled by Platts had expected a decline of 1.2 million barrels.
Gasoline supplies rose 3 million barrels, said the API, while analysts were looking for a drawdown of 200,000 barrels. The trade group also said distillate stockpiles rose by 459,000 barrels, less than the projected rise of 1.1 million barrels.
Last night's API data showed builds across the board, "setting up some trepidation" ahead of the government's data release, said Matt Smith, a commodity analyst at Schneider Electric in Louisville, Ky. "This trepidation is compounded by the double whammy of rhetoric" from the U.S. Federal Reserve -- from Bernanke speaking to Congress, to minutes from the central bank's last meeting.
In London, Brent crude oil for July delivery also lost ground, trading down 38 cents, or 0.4%, at $103.53 a barrel.
Traders have been fretting over total U.S. oil supplies that were already near their highest weekly level in at least 30 years, according to Energy Information Administration data that go back to August 1982.
The Fed
And with an eye on ample inventories, investors keyed in on comments by Bernanke about his view of progress in the economy, with the idea that stronger growth could spur more demand for energy.
In testimony to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress on Wednesday morning, Bernanke said a premature move to tighten monetary policy could strangle the recovery. His comments dampened any thought that the central bank will ease back on its easy monetary policy, which has been beneficial to dollar-denominated commodities.
Investors will also look for insight from minutes from the Federal Reserve's April 30-May 1 meeting about the economy and what may be next for the central bank's bond-buying program aimed at stimulating the economy. The Fed minutes will be released at 2 p.m. Eastern.
Ahead of Bernanke's testimony, New York Fed President William Dudley had said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that Fed officials need three to four more months before they will be able to know if the economy can shrug off the drag from fiscal policy.
In other market action Wednesday, June gasoline fell 3 cents, or 1%, to $2.82 a gallon, and June heating oil shed 2 cents, or 0.8%, to $2.91 a gallon.
Natural gas for June delivery fell 1 cent, or 0.3%, to $4.18 per million British thermal units. Prices through Tuesday had logged a three-session climb of 6.5%, with forecasts for warmer-than-usual weather conditions fueling prospects for higher cooling demand, analysts said.
The EIA will release its weekly data on natural-gas supplies on Thursday. Prestige Economics expects to see an inventory climb of 85 billion cubic feet.
A A A
All Content and Data provided by Third-Parties — Terms of Use
Oil falls ahead of U.S. government supply dataOil prices pare losses during Bernanke testimony
MARKETWATCH 12:47 AM ET 5/22/2013
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures fell Wednesday as traders braced for a U.S. government update on petroleum inventories following a trade group report that showed an unexpected rise in weekly crude inventories.
Prices, however, significantly pared losses after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in testimony to Congress, implied that the central bank won't be tapering off its bond purchases soon.
The U.S. government's Energy Information Administration will issue its weekly report on petroleum supplies at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Crude for July delivery lost 38 cents, or 0.4%, to $95.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was down around $1 ahead of Bernanke's testimony. On Tuesday, the June at the close of trade.
Investors received an update late Tuesday that oil supplies rose in the week ended May 17. The American Petroleum Institute said crude inventories increased 532,000 barrels, though analysts polled by Platts had expected a decline of 1.2 million barrels.
Gasoline supplies rose 3 million barrels, said the API, while analysts were looking for a drawdown of 200,000 barrels. The trade group also said distillate stockpiles rose by 459,000 barrels, less than the projected rise of 1.1 million barrels.
Last night's API data showed builds across the board, "setting up some trepidation" ahead of the government's data release, said Matt Smith, a commodity analyst at Schneider Electric in Louisville, Ky. "This trepidation is compounded by the double whammy of rhetoric" from the U.S. Federal Reserve -- from Bernanke speaking to Congress, to minutes from the central bank's last meeting.
In London, Brent crude oil for July delivery also lost ground, trading down 38 cents, or 0.4%, at $103.53 a barrel.
Traders have been fretting over total U.S. oil supplies that were already near their highest weekly level in at least 30 years, according to Energy Information Administration data that go back to August 1982.
The Fed
And with an eye on ample inventories, investors keyed in on comments by Bernanke about his view of progress in the economy, with the idea that stronger growth could spur more demand for energy.
In testimony to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress on Wednesday morning, Bernanke said a premature move to tighten monetary policy could strangle the recovery. His comments dampened any thought that the central bank will ease back on its easy monetary policy, which has been beneficial to dollar-denominated commodities.
Investors will also look for insight from minutes from the Federal Reserve's April 30-May 1 meeting about the economy and what may be next for the central bank's bond-buying program aimed at stimulating the economy. The Fed minutes will be released at 2 p.m. Eastern.
Ahead of Bernanke's testimony, New York Fed President William Dudley had said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that Fed officials need three to four more months before they will be able to know if the economy can shrug off the drag from fiscal policy.
In other market action Wednesday, June gasoline fell 3 cents, or 1%, to $2.82 a gallon, and June heating oil shed 2 cents, or 0.8%, to $2.91 a gallon.
Natural gas for June delivery fell 1 cent, or 0.3%, to $4.18 per million British thermal units. Prices through Tuesday had logged a three-session climb of 6.5%, with forecasts for warmer-than-usual weather conditions fueling prospects for higher cooling demand, analysts said.
The EIA will release its weekly data on natural-gas supplies on Thursday. Prestige Economics expects to see an inventory climb of 85 billion cubic feet.