Crude oil prices ended the week higher overall on New York and London markets Jan. 4, with light, sweet crude oil and Brent reporting their first weekly gain in a month. On a daily basis, crude oil price futures had gained for five consecutive days as of the Jan. 4 closing.
The US Energy Information Administration reported Jan. 4 that US oil supplies, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, remained essentially unchanged, rising 7,000 bbl to 441.4 million bbl for the week ended Dec. 28, 2018, compared with a week earlier (OGJ Online, Jan. 4, 2019).
EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report also showed US crude oil production held steady at 11.7 million b/d for the week ended Dec. 28 compared with the previous week.
Separately, Baker Hughes reported the US rig count fell 8 units during the week ended Jan. 4 to reach 1,075 active rigs. The US rig count started 2019 higher with 151 more rigs working than it did 2018 (OGJ Online, Jan. 4, 2019).
Meanwhile, the US Department of Labor reported US employers added 312,000 jobs in December despite slowing global economic growth, a partial shutdown of the US federal government, and a US-China trade dispute.
China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed Jan. 4 that US trade officials would meet with Chinese trade officials in Beijing Jan. 7-8. The talks are the first discussions between US and China trade officials since US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in December.
Energy prices
The February light, sweet crude contract on NYMEX gained 87¢ to settle at $47.96/bbl on Jan. 4 while the contract for March delivery settled at $48.28/bbl, up 88¢.
NYMEX natural gas for February rose 9¢ to close at a rounded $3.04/MMbtu on Jan. 4.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for February was up nearly 3¢ to $1.77/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for February nudged down less than a penny to remain at a rounded $1.35/gal.
Brent for March gained $1.11 to $57.06/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange while the April contract gained $1.07 to settle at $57.21/bbl. The gas oil contract was $528.50/tonne on Jan. 4, up $16.25.
The average price for OPEC’s basket of crudes was $55.14/bbl on Jan.4, up $2.19.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
