Oil futures prices surged Thursday on international markets as strong fundamentals of supply and demand prevailed.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the August contract for a benchmark US blend of light, sweet crudes jumped 82� to $32.72/bbl. The September contract also was up 60� to $31.25. In after-hours electronic trading, the August contract retreated slightly to $32.68/bbl while the September contract advanced to $31.30.
As the day ended in Singapore, North Sea Brent crude for August was at $30.08/bbl, up by 7� on the day, but down by 31� for the week.
In London on the International Petroleum Exchange, the August contract for North Sea Brent gained 69�, closing at $30.80/bbl after trading as high as $30.95/bbl during the day. But the August contract for natural gas dipped 8� to the equivalent of $2.82/Mcf.
Refined petroleum products also showed significant gains on the NYMEX. The July contract for heating oil jumped 2.88� to 84.47�/gal, while the contract for unleaded gasoline rose 1.61� to $1.0505/gal.
The near-term contract for natural gas recovered a little of its previous loss, up 2.6� to $4.423/Mcf.
Energy futures showed declines in early trading Friday on the NYMEX, with natural gas down slightly to $4.42/Mcf; August oil, down 12� to $32.60/bbl; July heating oil, down 0.1� to 84.5�/gal; and gasoline, down 0.55� to $1.045/gal. The decline is thought to be due, in part, to an announcement by Norway that it plans to lift oil production curbs, increasing output by 100,000 b/d starting Saturday.
Norwegian Oil Minister Olav Akselsen said in a statement, "There seems to be a need for oil in the market. The [Norwegian] government has therefore resolved not to continue its production regulations into the third quarter."
Norway, which produces 3.2 million b/d, cut its oil production by 100,000 b/d in 1998, and then again in 1999, in response to production cuts agreed on by the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries in an effort to boost prices.