MARKET WATCH: NYMEX oil price tops $52/bbl, Brent tops $60/bbl

Jan. 16, 2019
Crude oil benchmarks jumped more than $1/bbl on the New York and London markets Jan. 15 with light, sweet crude oil prices for February and March settling above $52/bbl while Brent crude for March and April settled above $60/bbl in London.

Crude oil benchmarks jumped more than $1/bbl on the New York and London markets Jan. 15 with light, sweet crude oil prices for February and March settling above $52/bbl while Brent crude for March and April settled above $60/bbl in London.

Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix said he expects crude prices will remain “range-bound” for at least a few days while oil market investors review world supply after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and some non-OPEC members cut production levels.

OPEC is scheduled to release its Monthly Oil Market Report on Jan. 17 while the International Energy Agency is scheduled to release its monthly report on Jan. 18.

The US Energy Information Administration on Jan. 16 was scheduled to release its weekly oil and product inventory report.

A poll by the Wall Street Journal showed analysts expect US crude oil inventories will have fallen by 2 million bbl for the week ended Jan. 11. US crude supplies increased overall during the second half of 2018, although levels have fallen in 5 of the last 6 weeks.

Energy prices

The February light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.60 to settle at $52.11/bbl on Jan. 15 while the contract for March delivery rose $1.59 to settle at $52.39/bbl.

NYMEX natural gas for February fell 9¢ to close at $3.50/MMbtu on Jan. 15.

Ultralow-sulfur diesel for February was up nearly 2¢ to a rounded $1.87/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for February added nearly 5¢ to a rounded $1.41/gal.

Brent crude for March climbed $1.65 to $60.64/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange while the April contract gained $1.60 to settle at $60.78/bbl. The gas oil contract for February declined $10.50 to $557/tonne on Jan. 15.

The average price for OPEC’s basket of crudes was $58.24/bbl on Jan. 15, down 15¢.

Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].