Light, sweet crude oil prices gained modestly on the New York market Jan. 16 after a US government report showed crude oil supplies fell sharper than expected while product inventories rose for the week ended Jan. 11.
“The continued strong rise in oil product stocks is bearish and overshadows the draw in crude oil stocks,” said Carsten Fritsch, Commerzbank senior commodities analyst.
US crude oil inventories for the week ended Jan. 11, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, decreased by 2.7 million bbl from the previous week to 437.1 million bbl, the US Energy Information Administration said (OGJ Online, Jan. 16, 2018).
The latest inventory puts US crude oil inventories about 8% above the 5-year average for this time of year, EIA said.
The Petroleum Status Report also said US crude production rose to a record 11.9 million b/d. In a separate report earlier this week, EIA said US production in 2019 is expected to reach a record of more than 12 million b/d.
Rising US production could at least partially offset efforts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and some non-OPEC producers, including Russia, to support oil prices with 1.2 million b/d in production cuts that became effective Jan. 1.
Energy prices
The February light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 20¢ to settle at $52.31/bbl on Jan. 16 while the contract for March delivery rose 22¢ to settle at $52.61/bbl.
NYMEX natural gas for February fell 11¢ to close at $3.38/MMbtu on Jan. 16.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for February was up 2¢ to $1.89/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for February nudged up less than 1¢ to remain at a rounded $1.41/gal.
Brent crude for March climbed 68¢ to $61.32/bbl on London’s Intercontinental Exchange while the April contract gained 56¢ to settle at $61.34/bbl. The gas oil contract for February increased $11.25 to $568.25/tonne on Jan. 16.
The average price for OPEC’s basket of crudes was $59.52/bbl on Jan. 16, up $1.28.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
