Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer
HOUSTON, Nov. 26 -- Oil futures prices rose slightly Tuesday, following a sharp drop Monday on the report that members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries exceeded their new production quota by an estimated 1 million bbl this month.
The January contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes inched up by 3¢ to $29.77/bbl Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the February position advanced by 7¢ to $29.56/bbl. On the US spot market, however, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., lost 25¢ to $29.68/bbl Tuesday.
Unleaded gasoline for December delivery fell by 1.18¢ to 82.36¢/gal on NYMEX. Heating oil for the same month dipped by 0.15¢ to 81.88¢/gal.
However, the expiring December natural gas contract jumped by 17.8¢ to $4.86/Mcf as traders scrambled to cover open sales contracts. The price also was boosted by a midweek cold snap across much of the US, which outstripped concerns about lost industrial demand for gas over the long Thanksgiving weekend. NYMEX will be closed Thursday and Friday for that holiday.
US oil, gas stocks decline
The US Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday the withdrawal of 1 bcf of natural gas from US underground storage during the week ended Nov. 21. That compares with withdrawals of 32 bcf during the previous week and of 49 bcf during the same period a year ago.
US gas storage now totals 3.15 tcf, which is up by 107 bcf from the same period last year and by 147 bcf above the 5-year average.
EIA also said Wednesday that US commercial crude inventories fell by 4.9 million bbl to 289.1 million bbl during the week ended Nov. 21, 14.7 million bbl below the 5-year average for this time of year. US distillate stocks declined by 600,000 bbl to 128.3 million bbl in the same period, with a decrease in heating oil offsetting a slight rise in diesel fuel. US gasoline inventories increased by 1.5 million bbl to 193.7 million bbl last week, still below the 5-year average by 10.6 million bbl, EIA said.
The American Petroleum Institute reported Wednesday that US oil stocks dropped by 4.6 million bbl to 288.7 million bbl last week. It said US distillate inventories fell by 1.8 million bbl to 128.8 million bbl, while gasoline stocks increased by 2.2 million bbl to 195.8 million bbl.
Other prices
In London, the January contract for North Sea Brent oil increased by 8¢ to $27.94/bbl Tuesday on the International Petroleum Exchange. Gas oil for December delivery lost $6.25 to $246/tonne. However, the December natural gas contract gained 8.8¢ to $5.54/Mcf on IPE.
For the second consecutive day, the average price for OPEC's basket of seven benchmark crudes was unavailable Wednesday from the group's news agency in Vienna.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected]
