Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer
HOUSTON, Nov. 28 -- An Arctic cold front moved into the western US, hiking natural gas futures prices to $8/MMbtu and pulling crude futures prices above $60/bbl as post-holiday trading resumed Nov. 27 on the New York market.
With the spreading cold front, analysts at Enerfax Daily said, "Heating demand across the US will climb to 10% above normal by Dec. 4, from 57% below average [on Nov. 27]."
Analysts in the Houston office of Raymond James & Associates Inc. said Nov. 28: "Reports of an attack on an oil distribution center in northern Iraq and its subsequent shut down provided further support to yesterday's climb in crude [prices]. Oil prices continue to rise during trading this morning, although they are unable to break out of their month-long trading range, and gas prices have once again risen above $8[/MMbtu], benefiting from the cold weather forecast."
In other news, Sudanese officials said the army repelled a rebel assault Nov. 27 on the Abu Jabra oil field. A Sudanese official in the oil industry said Abu Jabra's oil facilities were damaged in the attack but that its 10,000 b/d production was not affected. Sudan produces 500,000 b/d of oil. Most of its oil reserves are in the country's southern region, which became semiautonomous under a separate peace agreement that the government signed in 2005 with southern rebels
Energy prices
The January contract for benchmark sweet, light crudes gained $1.08 to $60.32/bbl Nov. 27 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The February contract was up 95¢ to $61.69/bbl. Heating oil for December delivery escalated by 3.87¢ to $1.71/gal. Unleaded gasoline for the same month increased by 0.49¢ to $1.59/gal. The January natural gas contract bumped up by 28¢ to $8/MMbtu on NYMEX.
In London, the January IPE contract for North Sea Brent crude increased by 41¢ to $60.40/bbl. The December gas oil contract gained $2.50 to $538.75/tonne.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of 11 benchmark crudes rose by 47¢ to $55.76/bbl on Nov. 27.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected].