By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 16 -- After tumbling to a 3-month low last week, near-month futures prices for benchmark US crudes edged slightly higher on May 13 as traders reassessed the week-long sell-off.
The market was impacted last week by a strengthening dollar and reports of rising US inventories and slower demand growth in China. The June contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes sank as low as $47.75/bbl during the May 13 session on the New York Mercantile Exchange before traders began scrambling to cover open sales contracts. In the resulting rally, the June contract closed at $48.67/bbl, up 13¢ for the day.
The July contract gained 9¢ to $50.28/bbl on NYMEX, in a contango situation with higher prices in later months that encourage a build in inventories. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate was up by 12¢ to $48.67/bbl. However, gasoline for June delivery lost 1.98¢ to $1.41/gal on NYMEX. Heating oil for the same month declined by 0.98¢ to $1.37/gal. The June natural gas contract edged up by 2.05¢ to $6.54/MMbtu.
In London, the June contract for North Sea Brent crude escalated by 32¢ to $48.66/bbl.
The Vienna office of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was closed May 16 for a public holiday, so there was no immediate report of the average price for its basket of seven benchmark crudes.
