Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer
HOUSTON, Nov. 20 -- Energy futures markets in New York and London continued their daily see-saw pattern, with prices generally declining Wednesday as traders took profits from the previous session's rise.
The December contract for benchmark US sweet, light crudes slipped by 36¢ to $32.92/bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the January contract dropped by 63¢ to $32.07/bbl. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., lost 35¢ to $32.93/bbl Wednesday.
Heating oil for December delivery was down by 1.16¢ to 88.76¢/gal on NYMEX. Unleaded gasoline for the same month declined by 1.13¢ to 90.44¢/gal. The December natural gas contract fell by 12.7¢ to $4.74/Mcf Wednesday, wiping out its previous gain of 10.1¢/Mcf. The NYMEX natural gas futures market was "undermined by a lower crude oil market and continued mild weather forecast for the next 2 weeks that should cut demand," said analysts Thursday at Enerfax Daily.
Gas draw
Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration reported Thursday the first withdrawal of natural gas from underground storage for this winter heating season. EIA said 32 bcf of natural gas were withdrawn from storage during the week ended Nov. 14, compared with an injection of 32 bcf the previous week and a draw of 1 bcf during the same period in 2002.
Last week's withdrawal was well above the consensus of Wall Street analysts. US gas storage now totals nearly 3.16 tcf, up by 59 bcf from year-ago levels and 107 bcf above the 5-year average for this time of year. US temperatures last week, as measured by gas-home weighted heating days, were 54% lower than the previous week, 34% below last year's levels, and in line with the 10-year average for the time of year, said Robert S. Morris, Bank of America Securities LLC, New York.
Other energy prices
In London, the January contract for North Sea Brent oil fell by 69¢ to $29.78/bbl Wednesday on the International Petroleum Exchange, in reaction to an unexpected rise in US crude inventories during the week ended Nov. 14. Brokers said that market had been overbought and that a substantial correction is likely as speculators and investment funds liquidate their long positions.
The American Petroleum Institute said late Wednesday that US oil stocks increased by 2.9 million bbl to 293.3 million bbl last week. However, it said US distillate inventories dipped by 20,000 bbl to 130.6 million bbl, while gasoline stocks fell by 522,000 bbl to 193.6 million bbl.
EIA officials earlier said commercial US oil inventories increased by 2.9 million bbl to 294 million bbl, while US gasoline stocks dipped by 100,000 bbl to 192.2 million bbl during the week ended Nov. 14. US distillate fuel stocks dropped by 2.3 million bbl to 128.9 million bbl last week, with "sizeable declines" in both heating oil and diesel fuel, EIA said (OGJ Online, Nov. 19, 2003).
Gas oil for December delivery gained $2.75 to $269.50/tonne Wednesday on IPE. The December natural gas contract also continued to climb in that market, up by 7.6¢ to the equivalent of $5.36/Mcf.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of seven benchmark crudes increased by 58¢ to $29.79/bbl Wednesday.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected]
