MARKET WATCH: NYMEX oil price drops slightly on stronger dollar

May 12, 2015
The light, sweet crude oil futures contract for June delivery fell slightly as the dollar strengthened but front-month oil prices held above $59/bbl by settlement May 11 on the New York market.

The light, sweet crude oil futures contract for June delivery fell slightly as the dollar strengthened but front-month oil prices held above $59/bbl by settlement May 11 on the New York market.

The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against other major currencies, rose 0.3%. Oil is traded in dollars, and a stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

In a Drilling Productivity Report, the US Energy Information Administration said May 11 that it expects oil production in seven key shale regions to fall by 86,000 b/d during June compared with May.

Meanwhile, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reportedly has a recent strategy report in which the cartel said it does not see oil prices consistently trading at $100/bbl again in the next decade, WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the report.

The report forecast oil prices will be about $76/bbl in 2025 in OPEC’s most optimistic scenario, the people said. A price of “$100 is not in any” of the scenarios in the report, said a delegate at the OPEC strategy presentation last week in Vienna, WSJ said.

The June crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled on May 11 at $59.26/bbl, down 14¢. The July contract for NYMEX oil settled at $60.29/bbl, down 6¢.

The natural gas contract for June delivery declined 7.8¢ to a rounded $2.80/MMbtu. The Henry Hub, La., gas price was $2.85/MMbtu, up 8¢.

Heating oil for June delivery fell 0.8¢ to a rounded $1.94/gal on May 11. The price for reformulated gasoline stock for oxygenates blending for June decreased by less than a penny to remain at $1.99/gal.

The June ICE contract for Brent crude was down 48¢ to $64.91/bbl, while the July contract was down 54¢ to $65.62/bbl. The ICE gas oil contract for June was down $5.75 to $589.25/tonne.

The average price for the OPEC’s basket of 12 benchmark crudes for May 11 was $62.03/bbl, down 41¢.

Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].

*Paula Dittrick is editor of OGJ’s Unconventional Oil & Gas Report.

About the Author

Paula Dittrick | Senior Staff Writer

Paula Dittrick has covered oil and gas from Houston for more than 20 years. Starting in May 2007, she developed a health, safety, and environment beat for Oil & Gas Journal. Dittrick is familiar with the industry’s financial aspects. She also monitors issues associated with carbon sequestration and renewable energy.

Dittrick joined OGJ in February 2001. Previously, she worked for Dow Jones and United Press International. She began writing about oil and gas as UPI’s West Texas bureau chief during the 1980s. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska in 1974.