Crude oil prices settled below $50/bbl on May 27 after having briefly crossed that threshold on May 26 before ending the day down slightly. For the week, crude prices on the New York market gained.
Analysts attributed supply disruptions in Canada, Nigeria, Libya, and Venezuela to helping support oil prices, but they said it might not last long.
“There isn’t a lot of extra supply out there,” said Ann-Louise Hittle, oil analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. “That’s when you start to get a risk premium back in the market. It is absolutely to be expected and it is, in our opinion, just the beginning.”
In observance of the US Memorial Day Monday holiday on May 30, oil futures were traded in an abbreviated session during the New York morning through the electronic Globex platform. Floor trading was closed for the entire day May 30.
Energy prices
The July crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 15¢ on May 27, settling at $49.33/bbl. The August contract settled down by 14¢ to end the week at $49.74/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas contract for June delivery gained 1.8¢ to a rounded $2.17/MMbtu. The Henry Hub price was $1.79/MMbtu, up 4¢.
Heating oil for June delivery declined by nearly a penny to a rounded $1.49/gal. The price for reformulated gasoline stock for oxygenates blending for June increased 1¢ to a rounded $1.63/gal.
The July Brent crude contract on London’s ICE dropped 27¢ to $49.32/bbl. The August contract lost 22¢ to $49.95/bbl. The June gas oil contract increased 25¢ to $448.50/tonne.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes price for May 27 was $44.76/bbl, down 67¢. OPEC’s basket was $44.80/bbl on May 30, down 4¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
