MARKET WATCHCrude futures price falls to 7-week low

April 14, 2005
The near-month crude futures price fell to a 7-week low Apr. 13 on the New York market as traders concentrated on reported builds in US inventories of crude and gasoline.

Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer

HOUSTON, Apr. 14 -- The near-month crude futures price fell to a 7-week low Apr. 13 on the New York market as traders concentrated on reported builds in US inventories of crude and gasoline.

The US Energy Information Administration reported Apr. 13 that commercial US stocks of crude escalated by 3.6 million bbl to 320.7 million bbl during the week ended Apr. 8. US gasoline inventories increased by 800,000 bbl to 213.1 million bbl during the same period. Stocks of distillate fuel inched up by 100,000 bbl to 104 million bbl, said EIA officials.

The US dollar, the international currency for crude purchases, weakened against the yen and most emerging-market currencies, although it was little changed against the euro.

The May contract for benchmark US sweet, light crudes plunged by $1.64 to $50.22/bbl Apr. 13 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the June contract lost $1.40 to $52.13/bbl. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., was down by $1.64 to $50.23/bbl. Gasoline for May delivery fell by 4.95¢ to $1.48/gal. Heating oil for the same month declined by 2.33¢ to $1.44/gal.

The May natural gas contract lost 11.6¢ to $6.98/MMbtu, settling below the $7/MMbtu mark for the first time since Mar. 28 on NYMEX. "The market has lost 10% of its value since the start of last week," said analysts at Enerfax Daily.

Meanwhile, the EIA on Apr. 14 reported the injection of 44 bcf of natural gas into US underground storage in the week ended Apr. 8. That compares with injections of 10 bcf the previous week and 15 bcf last a year ago. US gas storage now stands at nearly 1.3 tcf, up by 246 bcf from a year ago and 269 bcf above the 5-year average.

In London, the May contract for North Sea Brent crude dropped $1.50 to $50.48/bbl on the International Petroleum Exchange.

The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of seven benchmark crudes fell by $1.59 to $47.84/bbl on Apr. 13.

Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected]