The first day of spring in the northern hemisphere was marked by lower crude oil and natural gas futures prices.
The New York Mercantile Exchange April crude oil contract declined 94¢ on Mar. 20, closing at $99.43/bbl. The May contract fell 27¢ to settle at $98.90/bbl.
The April natural gas contract dropped 11.5¢ to a rounded $4.37/MMbtu. On the US spot market, the gas price at Henry Hub was a rounded $4.37/MMbtu, losing 8.5¢.
Heating oil for April delivery was up about 2.03¢ to a rounded $2.92/gal. Reformulated gasoline stock for oxygenate blending for April delivery gained 2.67¢ to a rounded $2.90/gal.
In London, the May ICE contract for Brent crude delivery tallied 60¢, closing at $106.45/bbl. The June contract increased 57¢ to $106.24/bbl. The ICE gas oil contract for April increased $1.75 to $888.75/tonne.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reported its basket of 12 benchmark crudes was $102.37/bbl on Mar. 20, a 79¢ decline.
