Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer
HOUSTON, Oct. 17 -- Energy futures prices fell Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange as traders focused on reports of larger-than-expected builds in US oil inventories.
"Even [with recent oil futures prices] close to $32/bbl, the market needed to wait for fresh news and fresh data before traders could even start to feel comfortable about contributing to any significant selling pressure," said Paul Horsnell, head of energy research at Barclays Capital Research, a division of Barclays Bank PLC, London (OGJ Online, Oct. 16, 2003).
API reports oil surge
The American Petroleum Institute reported late Thursday that US oil stocks jumped by 6.98 million bbl to 297.2 million bbl during the week ended Oct. 10. However, it said US inventories of distillate fuel oil fell by 1.4 million bbl to 125.69 million bbl during the same period, while US gasoline stocks lost 1.4 million bbl to 195.4 million bbl. API's weekly report was delayed by 1 day because of the Columbus Day holiday Monday in the US.
The US Energy Information Administration early Thursday reported US crude inventories increased by 3.8 million bbl to 290 million bbl last week but remained 6.9 million bbl short of the 5-year average for that period (OGJ Online, Oct. 17, 2003). EIA said US distillate stocks dropped by1.7 million bbl to 129.8 million bbl, down by 2.8 million from the 5-year average. US gasoline inventories fell by 3.4 million bbl to 194.6 million bbl, which is 8.4 million bbl below the 5-year average, said EIA officials.
"The crude market continues to ease while the product market remains tight," Horsnell observed. He sees the real impetus of the energy futures market swinging away from the volume of US crude inventories toward the tight supplies of heating oil and gasoline.
Energy prices
The November contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes dropped 23¢ to $31.54/bbl Thursday on NYMEX, while the December contract declined by 20¢ to $31.66/bbl. The spot market price for West Texas Intermediate crude at Cushing, Okla., lost 25¢ to $31.53/bbl.
Unleaded gasoline for November delivery fell by 0.82¢ to 87.59¢/gal Thursday on NYMEX. Heating oil for the same month was down by 0.62¢ to 82.26¢/gal. The November natural gas contract dipped by 2¢ to $5.41/Mcf, "after being up early on cooler weather forecasts but pressured by a late sell-off in cash [spot market] that kept physical prices well below the NYMEX" price level, said analysts Friday at Enerfax Daily.
In London, however, the November contract for North Sea Brent oil gained 24¢ to $31.11/bbl Thursday on the International Petroleum Exchange. The November natural gas contract increased by 1.9¢ to the equivalent of $4.31/Mcf. However, the November gas oil contract declined by $1.50 to $262.50/tonne on IPE.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of seven benchmark crudes gained 8¢ to $29.74/bbl Thursday.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected]
