By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Apr. 25 -- Energy futures prices declined Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange following unexpectedly bearish reports of US petroleum inventories by both the American Petroleum Institute and the US Department of Energy.
Despite disruptions of oil supplies from Venezuela and Iraq, API reported late Tuesday that US crude inventories declined by only 966,000 bbl last week. A DOE report released early Wednesday said US oil stocks rose by 1.5 million bbl during the same period.
The June contract for NYMEX crude dropped 24¢ to $26.38/bbl while the July contract declined by 23¢ to $26.14/bbl. In after-hours electronic trading, the June position remained unchanged, while the July contract inched up to $26.16/bbl.
Unleaded gasoline for May delivery fell 1.4¢ to 78.76¢/gal during regular NYMEX trading Wednesday. Heating oil for the same month dipped 0.41¢ to 66.12¢/gal. The May natural gas contract lost 1.72¢ to $3.42/Mcf.
The American Gas Association reported Wednesday that 69 bcf of natural gas was injected into US underground storage last week. AGA officials also revised the previous week's injection figures upward by 8 bcf to 18 bcf.
Last week's injections were up from 43 bcf during the same period last year and exceeded analysts' expectations. US underground gas storage now exceeds 1.5 tcf, up 755 bcf from a year ago.
In London, futures prices for North Sea Brent oil drifted lower early Wednesday but recovered most of those losses by the close of trade on the International Petroleum Exchange. The market needed to fall back so that traders could take profits, brokers said. Afterward, they said, IPE Brent prices seemed firmer between $25.50-25.80/bbl and poised for a strong rally with the next bullish indicator.
The June Brent contract closed at $25.76/bbl., down 24¢ for the day after trading between $25.37-25.78/bbl on the IPE. The May natural gas contract jumped up 10¢ to the equivalent of $1.82/Mcf.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of seven benchmark crudes lost 44¢ to $24.80/bbl Wednesday.
