Light, sweet crude oil prices for May delivery jumped $1.86 during Apr. 6 trading to close at $37.75/bbl after the weekly inventory report showed US crude oil supplies fell by an estimated 4.9 million bbl for the week ended Apr. 1 compared with the previous week.
Before the report was released, analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 3.3 million-bbl rise (OGJ Online, Apr. 7, 2016).
The Energy Information Administration attributed the big inventory draw to a decline in imports and increased refinery activity for the week ended Apr. 1. US refinery inputs were 16.4 million b/d, up 199,000 b/d from the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 91.4% of capacity.
Regarding production, EIA said US oil production fell to 9.008 million b/d for the week ended Apr. 1, down from 9.022 million b/d for the previous week.
Working gas in underground storage across the Lower 48 was estimated at 2.48 tcf as of Apr. 1, said EIA’s weekly Gas Storage Report, marking a net increase of 12 bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 1 tcf higher than last year at this time and 874 bcf above the 5-year average.
Energy prices
The May crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed $1.86 to $37.75/bbl on Apr. 6, and the June contract rose $1.87, settling at $38.98/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas contract for May was down 4¢ to $1.91/MMbtu. The Henry Hub price was down 5¢ to $1.86 on Apr. 6.
Heating oil for May delivery climbed nearly 7¢ to a rounded $1.14/gal. The price for reformulated gasoline stock for oxygenates blending for May was up nearly 2¢ to a rounded $1.40/gal.
The Brent crude contract for June on London’s ICE climbed $1.97 to $39.84/bbl. The July contract rose $1.97 to $40/bbl. The gas oil contract was $329/tonne, up $14.50.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of 13 benchmark crudes on Apr. 6 was $33.93/bbl, up $1.22.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
