Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer
HOUSTON, March 1 -- Futures prices for crude and products rebounded Feb. 28 as short-covering by some traders triggered technical buy orders by others.
Traders also seemed less certain about a weekend agreement that may give Russia a role in Iran's nuclear development plans. That plan was at first interpreted as reducing tensions between Iran and the US and Europe and encouraged futures market sales on Feb. 27.
The April contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes increased by 41¢ to $61.41/bbl Feb. 28 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The May position advanced by 66¢ to $63.01/bbl. Heating oil for March delivery gained 2.94¢ to $1.71/gal on NYMEX. Gasoline for the same month escalated by 3.06¢ to $1.56/gal.
However, the April natural gas contract dropped 7.5¢ to $6.71/MMbtu, the lowest level in 9 months on NYMEX. With a 48% surplus in US underground gas storage at present, there seems to be sufficient gas for the remainder of this US winter, said analysts at Enerfax Daily.
In London, the April IPE contract for North Sea Brent crude gained 77¢ to $61.76/bbl. Gas oil for March increased by $6 to $537.25/tonne.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of 11 benchmark crudes was down by 37¢ to $56.01/bbl at the end of February.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected].
