Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer
HOUSTON, May 19 -- The near-month crude contract price fell to a new 3-month low May 18 on the New York Mercantile Exchange as US inventories continued to build.
Although US inventories usually begin being drawn down in May, the Energy Information Administration said May 18 that commercial crude stocks jumped by 4.3 million bbl to 334 million bbl during the week ended May 13. That's the highest inventory level since May 1999, EIA said. US gasoline stocks also surged by 1.1 million bbl to 214.8 million bbl in the same period, while distillate fuels fell by 200,000 bbl to 103.8 million bbl.
Imports of crude into the US increased by 867,000 b/d to almost 10.9 million b/d during that same week, the fourth highest weekly average ever. "Imports from Mexico were particularly plentiful last week," EIA said.
The input of crude into US refineries increased by 158,000 b/d to more than 15.5 million b/d during the week, with units operating at 94% of capacity. As a result, gasoline production increased to nearly 9 million b/d, and distillate fuel production inched up to nearly 4.1 million b/d.
Energy prices
The June contract for benchmark US sweet, light crudes plunged by $1.72 to settle at $47.25/bbl—the lowest closing price since Feb. 10—after trading at $47.16-49.35/bbl May 18 on NYMEX. The July contract lost $1.54 to $49.13/bbl, with all later monthly prices progressively higher through December. That situation is known in the futures market as a contango and encourages traders to build stocks rather than pull down. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., fell by $1.72 to $47.26/bbl.
Gasoline for June delivery dropped 2.08¢ to $1.41/gal on NYMEX. Heating oil for the same month was down by 1.57¢ to $1.36/gal. The June natural gas contract lost 8.4¢ to $6.39/MMbtu. EIA reported May 19 the injection of 90 bcf of natural gas into US underground storage during the week ended May 13. That was up from injections of 54 bcf the previous week and 85 bcf a year ago. US gas storage now stands at nearly 1.6 tcf, up by 223 bcf from year ago levels and 291 bcf surplus above the 5-year average.
In London, the July contract for North Sea Brent crude fell by $1.19 to $48.15/bbl on the International Petroleum Exchange.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of seven benchmark crudes lost 49¢ to $45.11/bbl on May 18.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected]
