Highlights of the Market Watch feature on OGJ Online. Dates are when items appeared online. Subscribers can retrieve full articles online via keyword search.
Nov. 23
Energy futures prices generally declined Monday amid widespread market expectations that the Energy Information Administration finally would report an increase in US heating oil stocks during the week ended Nov. 19, after 9 previous weeks of consecutive declines. The new front-month January contract for benchmark US sweet, light crudes lost 25¢ to $48.64/bbl Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the February position dipped by 4¢ to $48.81/bbl. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., gained 5¢ to $48.50/bbl Monday. Heating oil for December delivery dropped 3.77¢ to $1.44/gal Monday on NYMEX. Gasoline for the same month lost 2.15¢ to $1.29/gal. The December natural gas contract plummeted by 35.3¢ to $6.76/Mcf Monday, wiping out the previous session's gain.
Nov. 24
Crude oil futures climbed past $50/bbl briefly on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday before settling at $48.94/bbl—the highest close since Nov. 8. Analysts said traders were nervous about world oil supplies in advance of US inventory reports. The January crude contract rose to $48.94/bbl on NYMEX after trading peaked at $50.25/bbl. The February position gained to $49.12/bbl. Spot market WTI gained to $48.75/bbl. Heating oil for December edged up to $1.4458/gal NYMEX. Gasoline for the same month gained to $1.31/gal. The December natural gas contract climbed to $6.79/Mcf.
Nov. 29
The expiring December natural gas contract shot up Wednesday, pulling up crude prices in its wake, after the Energy Information Administration reported an unexpectedly large withdrawal of 49 bcf of natural gas from US storage during the week ended Nov.19. The December natural gas contract shot up to $7.98/Mcf on NYMEX. The January crude gained to $49.44/bbl , while the February contract was up to $49.45/bbl. Spot market WTI increased to $49.27/bbl. Heating oil for December inched up to $1.4516/gal on NYMEX. However, gasoline fell to $1.30/gal. NYMEX was closed Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
OGJ was not published Nov. 29, so below are highlights of market prices for the 3rd week of November.
Nov. 16
Energy prices generally continued to fall Monday, with most analysts reporting no signs of a let up in the downward trend. The December crude contract lost 45¢ to $46.87/bbl on NYMEX, while the January contract was down by 46¢ to $46.95/bbl. Spot market WTI dropped 45¢ to $46.88/bbl. Heating oil for December declined by 2.05¢ to $1.34/gal. Gasoline for the same month slipped by 0.19¢ to $1.2379/bbl. However, the December natural gas contract gained 26¢ to $7.44/Mcf.
Nov. 17
Energy prices continued to tumble Tuesday. December crudes fell to $46.11/bbl on NYMEX. Spot market WTI lost to $46.12/bbl. December heating oil was down to $1.33/gal. Gasoline lost to $1.22/gal. December natural gas plunged to $7.12/Mcf.
Nov. 18
Energy futures prices shot up Wednesday, led by heating oil, which soared to $1.41/gal. Gasoline escalated to $1.26/gal. December natural gas contract gained to $7.28/Mcf. December crude gained to $46.84/bbl on NYMEX. Spot market WTI increased to $46.85/bbl.
Nov. 19
December heating oil continued to climb to $1.43/gal Thursday on NYMEX. But gasoline fell to $1.24/gal, while natural gas plunged to $6.87/Mcf. December crude lost to $46.22/bbl. Spot market WTI was down to $46.23/bbl.
Nov. 22
Energy prices shot up Friday, triggered by panic among European gasoline and gas-oil distributors. Gasoline for December shot up to $1.31/gal on NYMEX. Heating oil escalated to $1.48/gal. Natural gas contract gained to $7.12/Mcf. "But few expect much more upside with physical prices trading at a steep discount to futures with expiration [of the December contract] on Wednesday," analysts reported. The expiring December crude contract soared to $48.44/bbl Friday, the biggest 1-day increase in a near-month crude contract since June. Spot market WTI gained to $48.45/bbl.
