Light, sweet crude oil prices settled higher for the first gain in three trading sessions on the New York market Feb. 6 after a government weekly inventory report showed a smaller-than-expected increase in US oil supplies.
The US Energy Information Administration estimated crude supplies, excluding the strategic petroleum reserve, rose 1.3 million bbl to a total of 447.2 million bbl for the week ended Feb. 1 (OGJ Online, Feb. 6, 2018).
The inventory rise was the third weekly build in US crude supplies, but it was slightly less than analysts anticipated. Analysts surveyed by the Wall Street Journal before the report had expected EIA to report crude inventories rose by 1.4 million bbl. Separately, the American Petroleum Institute said its own calculations showed an increase of 2.5 million bbl.
Ole Hansen of Saxo Bank said, “From a seasonal perspective…crude oil stocks tend to rise and gasoline stocks fall as refineries cut demand and production as they head into seasonal maintenance period.”
But he notes that this pattern might not hold this year because of rising US exports and recent production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, particularly Saudi Arabia. Currently, the market has “an additional layer of uncertainty,” Hansen said on Feb. 7.
EIA’s Petroleum Status Report said US oil production was unchanged for the week ended Feb. 1 compared with the previous week at 11.9 million b/d.
Energy prices
The March contract for light, sweet crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange increased 35¢ to settle at $54.01/bbl on Feb. 6 while the contract for April delivery gained 34¢ to settle at $54.34/bbl.
NYMEX natural gas for March held flat from the previous day at a rounded $2.66/MMbtu on Feb. 6.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for March rose nearly 1.5¢ to a rounded $1.91/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for March increased 3¢ to a rounded $1.46/gal.
Brent crude for April delivery increased by 71¢ to settle at $62.69/bbl while the May contract gained 67¢ to settle at $62.74/bbl. The gas oil contract for February increased $2.50 to $582.25/tonne on Feb. 6.
The average price for OPEC’s basket of crudes was $62.30/bbl on Feb. 6, up 27¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
