The light, sweet crude oil prices for June delivery fell modestly on the New York market Apr. 24 to settle just above $49/bbl while the Brent crude oil price for June delivery also dropped but remained above $51/bbl.
“The market is really focusing on visible inventory draws, they’re just not getting it in the right places,” Miswin Mahesh, Energy Aspects oil analyst, told the Wall Street Journal. He said product stocks were falling but investors want to see crude oil stocks fall.
Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers agreed to cut production by 1.8 million b/d in the first half of 2017. Citing lingering ample world oil supplies, analysts and others say OPEC likely will extend the production-cut targets when it meets in May.
The Royal Bank of Canada issued a research note saying Brent is up 27% year-on-year, but most of the gains were achieved in late 2016.
“In 2017 year-to-date, the benchmark has gyrated between $58.57/bbl and $50.66/bbl,” said Al Stanton, RBC analyst. “Without a rising oil price, investor interest has waned since the yearend 2016-early 2017 upsurge,” he said. “The companies are, however, striving to deliver cost reductions, refinancings, new developments, and better drilling results.”
Energy prices
The June crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 39¢ on Apr. 24 to close at $49.23/bbl. The July contract decreased 39¢ to $49.58/bbl.
The natural gas price for May fell 3.5¢ to a rounded $3.07/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas price was $2.98, down 6¢.
Heating oil for May fell 1¢ to a rounded $1.54/gal. Reformulated gasoline stock for oxygenate blending for May dropped 2¢ to a rounded $1.62/gal.
The Brent crude contract for June on London’s ICE fell 36¢ to settle at $51.60/bbl. The July contract was down 31¢ to $52.13/bbl. The May gas oil contract declined $1.75 to $465.75/tonne.
OPEC’s basket of crudes closed Apr. 24 at $49.64/bbl, down 35¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
