New York Mercantile Exchange petroleum futures prices ended mixed Tuesday, as traders waited for data to support recent speculation about whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will increase production at its upcoming meeting.
The American Petroleum Institute released its weekly crude oil inventory report showing a 4.35 million bbl decrease in crude stocks; the stocks were expected to decline about half a million barrels.
On the NYMEX Tuesday, the July contract for light sweet crude opened at $29.66/bbl and edged up 9� to close at $29.75. The August contract fell 1� from opening to close at $28.97. This price is likely to remain high, according to the US Energy Information Administration, which predicts West Texas Intermediate crude will remain at about $28/bbl for the rest of the year.
In contrast, the July NYMEX natural gas contract opened at $4.40/MMbtu and fell 10.6� to $4.294, while the August contract fell 9.4� to $4.266 from the opening.
Refined petroleum products closed mixed, with July home heating oil adding 0.67� to settle at 75.34�/gal, while unleaded gasoline for the same month declined by 1.06� to finish at 98.83�. Gasoline declined on profit-taking and technical trading.
In after-hours electronic access trading in New York, light sweet crude was fetching $29.77/bbl for the July position and $29.15 for the August contract, both up from the NYMEX Tuesday close.
On the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) North Sea Brent edged up 33� from the previous close to settle at $28.70/bbl on Tuesday, though the market remained nervous. The day's high was $28.80 and the low was $28.31.
The July IPE contract for natural gas closed at the equivalent of $3.08, up 3�.
IPE June gasoil also ended higher at $231.50/tonne, up by $5.75 from Monday's settlement. The day's high was $232.50 and the low $225.75.
The price of North Sea Brent crude oil on the Singapore exchange rose by 17� in active trading today, keeping up with the upward swing seen in New York and London Tuesday. It closed at $28.55/bbl.
The price of the OPEC basket of seven crudes stood at $28.17/bbl Tuesday, compared with $27.77 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.
