Market Timeline

Dec. 20, 2004
After plummeting more than $7/bbl the previous week, crude futures prices bumped up Dec. 6 amid indications by several members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that they might take action at their Dec. 10 meeting in Cairo to curb the fall.

Highlights of the Market Watch feature on OGJ Online. Dates are when items appeared online. Subscribers can retrieve full articles online via keyword search.

Dec. 7

After plummeting more than $7/bbl the previous week, crude futures prices bumped up Dec. 6 amid indications by several members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that they might take action at their Dec. 10 meeting in Cairo to curb the fall. Markets also reacted to an attack Dec. 7 by an al-Qaeda group on the US consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that killed five non-American employees. Three terrorists died, and two were captured in a gunfight with Saudi security forces. One of the captives later died.

The January contract for benchmark US sweet, light crudes increased 44¢ to $42.98/bbl Dec. 6 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The February contract gained 49¢ to $43.24/bbl. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate gained 44¢ to $42.99/bbl. Heating oil for January delivery increased by 1.38¢ to $1.25/gal on NYMEX, but gasoline dipped by 0.53¢ to $1.1296/gal. The January natural gas contract jumped by 12.7¢ to $6.92/MMbtu.

Dec. 8

Energy prices resumed their fall Dec. 7 as hundreds of protestors ended their 3-day siege of three oil pumping-station platforms in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. That came after the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, which operates two of the platforms, and ChevronTexaco Corp., operator of the third, agreed to discuss labor issues.

The January crude contract fell to $41.46/bbl Dec. 7 on NYMEX, while February crude was down to $41.81/bb. Spot market WTI lost to $42.47/bbl. Gasoline for January plunged to $1.09/gal. Heating oil was down to $1.22/gal. January natural gas tumbled to $6.62/MMbtu.

Dec. 9

Energy prices rebounded slightly Dec. 8 as markets reacted to a lower-than-expected rise in US crude inventories. The Energy Information Administration reported US crude inventories increased by 600,000 bbl to 293.9 million bbl during the week ended Dec. 3. US distillate stocks rose by 1.4 million bbl to 119.3 million bbl, with almost all of that gain in diesel fuel. US gasoline stocks increased by 2.4 million bbl to 208.1 million bbl.

January crude gained to $41.94/bbl on NYMEX. The February position was up to $42.31/bbl. Spot market WTI increased to $41.95/bbl. Heating oil for January jumped to $1.26/gal. Gasoline inched up to $1.0875/gal. The January natural gas contract bumped up to $6.68/MMbtu.

Dec. 10

Energy prices continued to climb Dec. 9 in anticipation that members of OPEC would curb overproduction at their Dec. 10 meeting in Cairo.

Indeed, OPEC ministers voted to reduce overproduction by 1 million b/d effective Jan. 1, while retaining their production quota at 27 million b/d for the 10 members except Iraq.

However, the group did not change its target price band of $22-28/bbl, although its crude has been selling above that level for more than a year.

January crude increased to $42.53/bbl, while February was up to $42.97/bbl. Spot market WTI gained to $42.54/bbl. Heating oil jumped to $1.30/gal. Gasoline was up to $1.11/gal. January natural gas gained to $6.89/MMbtu.

Dec. 13

Energy futures prices lost ground in trading Dec. 10 on NYMEX. Prices fell despite a Dec. 10 announcement that members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would try to lower oil production by 1 million b/d.

Analysts said OPEC's decision was a widely expected move that the market had accommodated in the week prior to OPEC's Cairo meeting.

Benchmark US light, sweet crude for January delivery pulled back by $1.82 Dec. 10 on NYMEX to finish at $40.71/bbl. The February contract fell by $1.61 to $41.36/bbl.

Heating oil for January delivery fell by 7.44¢ to $1.23/gal Dec. 10 on NYMEX. Unleaded gasoline for the same month fell by 3.14¢ to $1.08/gal.

WTI lost $1.82 to $40.71/bbl.

The January natural gas contract, meanwhile, declined 5¢ to $6.84/MMbtu.