By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 6 -- Energy prices fell Jan. 5 as traders sold off heating oil futures following a government report of a larger-than-expected build the previous week in commercial US distillate fuel stocks.
The Energy Information Administration said Jan. 5 that gasoline and distillate fuel stocks increased by 2 million bbl each to 214.3 million bbl and 121.1 million bbl, respectively, during the week ended Dec. 31, while crude inventories dropped by 3.3 million bbl to 291.8 million bbl (OGJ Online, Jan. 5, 2005).
Energy prices
Heating oil for February delivery fell by 2.83¢ to $1.22/gal Jan. 5 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, pulling down prices for other energy commodities. Gasoline for the same month dipped by 0.11¢ to $1.171/gal. The February natural gas contract lost 6.9¢ to $5.83/MMbtu, "pressured by a weaker crude oil market and still high natural gas storage levels," said analysts at Enerfax Daily.
On Jan. 6, EIA reported 151 bcf of natural gas was withdrawn from US underground storage during the week ended Dec. 31. That was down from 178 bcf the previous week but up from 52 bcf during the same period in 2004. US gas storage now stands at nearly 2.7 tcf, up 79 bcf from year-ago levels and 279 bcf above the 5-year average for this time of year.
The February contract for benchmark US sweet, light crudes lost 52¢ to $43.39/bbl on NYMEX, while the March contract retreated by 47¢ to $43.61/bbl Jan. 5. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., declined by 52¢ to $43.40/bbl.
In London, the February contract for North Sea Brent crude was down by 53¢ to $40.51/bbl on the International Petroleum Exchange.
However, the average price for OPEC's basket of seven benchmark crudes increased by 67¢ to $$37.24/bbl on Jan. 5.
