Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer
HOUSTON, Oct. 13 -- Crude futures prices increased slightly Oct. 12 from a 10-month low as the US inventory of distillate fuel fell and two oil fields off Norway temporarily were closed by safety inspectors.
The US Energy Information Administration said US distillate fuel inventories dropped 1.6 million bbl to 149.9 million bbl during the week ended Oct. 6 (OGJ Online, Oct. 12, 2006). Ultralow-sulfur diesel inventories dipped by 200,000 bbl in its first decline since the week ended July 14. Heating oil fell by 1.8 million bbl, the largest decline since the week ended Mar. 24, EIA said.
Energy prices
The November contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes hit a year-low of $57.22/bbl in overnight electronic trading Oct. 12 on the New York Mercantile but rallied during the regular trading session to close at $57.86/bbl, up 27¢ for the day. The December contract gained 23¢ to $59.68/bbl. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., was up 27¢ to $57.87/bbl. Heating oil for November delivery increased by 1.57¢ to $1.69/gal on NYMEX. Unleaded gasoline for the same month inched up by 0.06¢ but remained virtually unchanged at $1.45/gal.
The November natural gas contract fell 36.8¢ to $5.78/MMbtu as US winter gas storage increased to the highest level ever. EIA reported the injection of 62 bcf of gas during the week ended Oct. 6, boosting US storage to nearly 3.4 tcf, up by 410 bcf from year-ago levels and 358 bcf above the 5-year average (OGJ Online, Oct. 12, 2006).
In London, the November IPE contract for North Sea Brent crude climbed by 11¢ to $58.76/bbl. October gas oil was unchanged at $540/tonne.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of 11 benchmark crudes increased 3¢ to $54.19/bbl on Oct. 12.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected].
