Highlights of the Market Watch feature on OGJ Online. Dates are when items appeared online. Subscribers can retrieve full articles online via keyword search.
Sept. 28
Threats to Nigeria's oil production pushed crude futures to a record high of $50.47/bbl in after-hours electronic trading Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, surpassing for the first time the "psychologically important" $50/bbl level.
The November contract for benchmark US sweet, light crudes gained 76¢ to $49.64/bbl during the regular NYMEX session, while the December position advanced 85¢ to $48.93/bbl. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., was up 84¢ to $49.65/bbl.
Heating oil for November climbed by 1.01¢ to $1.37/gal, but gasoline for the same month dipped by 0.19¢ to $1.3463/gal. The October natural gas contract fell 13¢ to $5.26/Mcf, its third loss in as many sessions, "undermined by a continuing soft [US spot] market in the face of mild weather forecasts," said analysts at Enerfax Daily.
Sept. 29
Energy prices remained high Tuesday with continued threats to Nigerian oil production and slow return of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production shut in by Hurricane Ivan.
The November crude contract closed at a record $49.90/bbl, up by 26¢ for the day, on NYMEX. December crude also increased by 26¢, to $49.19/bbl, while spot market WTI was up the same amount to $49.91/bbl. Gasoline for October advanced 1.16¢ to $1.36/gal.
Heating oil for the same month gained 0.98¢ to $1.38/gal. The expiring October natural gas contract jumped by 46.1¢ to $5.73/Mcf.
Sept. 30
After 2 weeks of little progress in bringing shut-in natural gas back online in the Gulf of Mexico, the November natural gas contract spiked at $7.23/Mcf Wednesday before closing at $6.91/Mcf, up 56¢ for the day on NYMEX.
Back-month gas futures contracts also registered hefty gains, "easily surpassing their all-time contract highs [and] forcing traders into massive short-covering," said analysts at Enerfax Daily.
The November crude contract pushed to $50.20/bbl before closing at $49.51/bbl, down 39¢ for the day. The December contract lost 28¢ to $48.91/bbl. Spot market WTI was down by 40¢ to $49.51/bbl.
Gasoline for October delivery fell by 2.19¢ to $1.34/gal. Heating oil for the same month was down by 0.4¢ to $1.3738/gal.
Oct. 1
Crude prices increased Thursday, again pushing past the $50/bbl mark but failing to hold at that level on the New York market.
The November crude contract traded at $50.10/bbl before settling at $49.64/bbl, up 13¢ for the day on NYMEX. The December position gained 30¢ to $49.21/bbl. Spot market WTI was up 14¢ to $49.65/bbl. October heating oil increased by 1.79¢ to $1.39/gal on NYMEX. Gasoline for the same month rose by 0.84¢ to $1.34/gal. However, the November natural gas contract lost 11.6¢ to $6.80/Mcf, "on a soft cash [spot] market and some profit-taking after a 2-day 16% price surge," said Enerfax analysts.
Oct. 4
Friday, the November benchmark US crude contract gained 48¢ to $50.12/bbl, marking the first ever closing above $50/bbl in the 21 years since crude futures began trading on NYMEX. The jump came as traders covered open sales contracts for fear that something might happen to push up prices over the weekend.
Spot market WTI also surpassed $50/bbl for the first time, gaining 48¢ to $50.13/bbl.
The December contract for benchmark US crudes also was up by 48¢, to $49.69/bbl Friday on NYMEX.
Gasoline for November delivery jumped by 2.46¢ to $1.35/gal, while heating oil for the same month advanced by 0.97¢ to $1.40/gal. However, the November natural gas contract dipped by 2.3¢ to $6.77/Mcf, "on a tumbling cash [spot gas] market and some profit-taking after a 16% price surge earlier in the week," said analysts Monday at Enerfax Daily.
