MARKET WATCHCrude, gasoline futures prices rally

Crude and gasoline prices climbed slightly in New York May 25, regaining losses from the previous session.

May 26, 2006

2 min read

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 26 -- Crude and gasoline prices climbed slightly in New York May 25, regaining losses from the previous session (OGJ Online, May 25, 2006). Natural gas prices hovered just below $6/MMbtu on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Ronald J. Barone of UBS Securities LLC in New York expects natural gas prices to rebound during June through August. His expectation is based upon WSI Corp.'s forecasts for a scorching summer across most of the US.

In NYMEX trading on May 25, natural gas prices for June delivery rose 1.1¢ to $5.975/MMbtu.

Barone said, "The latest price mirrors the same closing price 1 week ago, which may indicate the contract has bottomed out and has nowhere to go but up."

The 12-month strip traded at $8.11/MMbtu, its lowest level in almost a year. That compares with $8.57/MMbtu for the previous week and $6.90/MMbtu for the same period last year, Barone said in a research note.

NYMEX planned to close trading at 1 p.m. May 26 and to remain closed for Monday's Memorial Day holiday.

Energy prices
The July contract for benchmark US sweet, light crudes rose by $1.46 to $71.32/bbl while the August contract climbed $1.48 to $72.09/bbl. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., was up by $1.41 to $71.12/bbl.

Gasoline for June delivery rose 8.54¢ to $2.104/gal on NYMEX. Heating oil for the same month climbed 5.40¢ to $1.994/gal.

In London, the July IPE contract for North Sea Brent crude was up by $1.49 to $70.71/bbl. The June contract for gas oil lost $3 to $619/tonne.

The average price for the basket of 11 benchmark crudes from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was $63.91/bbl May 25, down 54¢ from the May 23 trading session. OPEC was closed for a holiday on May 24.