Light, sweet crude oil prices bounded back above $72/bbl on the New York market Sept. 27 after US Energy Sec. Rick Perry said there are no plans to release oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The US November crude contract settled below $72/bbl on Sept. 26 after two previous consecutive settlements above that level.
Selling oil from the SPR would have “a fairly minor and short-term impact,” Perry told reporters in Washington, DC. Oil prices increased following his comments.
Analysts attribute recent oil price gains to declining Iranian crude exports in anticipation of full US sanctions against Iran effective Nov. 4. US President Donald Trump also wants other countries to stop buying Iranian crude oil.
UBS Wealth Management analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, “Iranian oil exports are falling faster than expected.” He noted oil prices are supported because US officials are “not planning to tap…strategic oil reserves and Saudi Arabia is taking a rather passive approach” to filling the gap left by reduced Iranian crude exports.
The Wall Street Journal reported unidentified sources as saying National Iranian Oil Co. executives provisionally expect crude shipments to drop to about 1.5 million b/d during September compared with 2.3 million b/d in June.
On Sept. 28, market participants awaited the Baker Hughes weekly US rig count, which is seen as an indicator of future production.
Energy prices
The light, sweet crude contract for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 55¢ to $72.12/bbl on Sept. 27. The December contract also rose 55¢ to settle at $71.96/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas price for November was up 7¢ to a rounded $3.07/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas fell 6¢ to $3.06/MMbtu.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for October rose 2¢ to $2.32/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for October increased nearly 2¢ to settle at $2.08/gal.
Brent crude oil for November gained 38¢ to $81.72/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The December contract was up 59¢ to $81.38/bbl. The gas oil contract for October gained $2 to settle at $712.75/tonne on Sept. 27.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes for Sept. 26 averaged $80.88/bbl, down 70¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
