Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery fell slightly May 16 to settle above $48.60/bbl pending the release of the weekly US oil and product inventory by the US Energy Information Administration on May 17.
The American Petroleum Institute said its own preliminary estimate showed US crude stockpiles rose by 882,000 bbl for the week ended May 12.
But the Wall Street Journal’s survey of 13 analysts anticipated the inventory would drop by 2.2 million bbl.
Traders also watched for news about the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers regarding the possible fate of existing production-cut targets that started in January. OPEC meets on May 25.
On May 15, Saudi Arabia and Russia said the OPEC production targets should be extended for 9 months to Mar. 31, 2018. The cartel would have to agree to extend the targets.
Last year, OPEC agreed to cut production by 1.2 million b/d starting in 2017. Some non-OPEC producers agreed to cut production by 600,000 b/d of which Russia vowed to cut 300,000 b/d.
Energy prices
The light, sweet contract for June crude oil delivery dropped 19¢ to close at $48.67/bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange May 16. The July contract fell 16¢ to settle at $49/bbl.
The natural gas price for June was down 12¢ to a rounded $3.23/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas price was down by 4¢ to $3.23/MMbtu on May 15.
Heating oil for June increased less than 1¢ to a rounded $1.52/gal. Reformulated gasoline stock for oxygenate blending for June gained nearly 1¢ to remain at a rounded $1.60/gal.
The Brent crude contract for July on London’s ICE was down 17¢ to $51.65/bbl. The August contract was down 10¢ to $51.91/bbl. The June gas oil contract was $458/tonne, down $1.
OPEC’s basket of crudes was $49.71/bbl on May 16, down 1¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].