Market watch: Military withdrawals dampen energy futures prices

Withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian territories relieved worries about possible disruptions of Middle East oil supplies and dampened energy futures prices Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

April 23, 2002

2 min read

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Apr. 23 -- Withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian territories relieved worries about possible disruptions of Middle East oil supplies and dampened energy futures prices Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A statement by Ali I. Naimi, Saudi Arabia's minister of petroleum and mineral resources, indicating that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may need to increase production within a few months also contributed to the market's bearish mood, said analysts.

The May contract for NYMEX crude dipped 11¢ to $26.27/bbl, while the June contract slipped 4¢ to $26.40/bbl. In after-hours electronic trading, however, the June contract rebounded to $26.54/bbl while the July position stood at $26.19/bbl.

NYMEX unleaded gasoline for May delivery dropped 1.38¢ to 79.02¢/gal, and heating oil was down 0.1¢ to 65.81¢/gal. However, the May natural gas contract advanced by 6.9¢ to $3.60/Mcf.

In London, futures prices for North Sea Brent crude were little changed Monday on the International Petroleum Exchange. The June Brent contract settled at $25.89/bbl, up 4¢ for the day after trading in a range of $25.32-26.39/bbl.

Brokers said prices were moving toward the $26/bbl mark and could consolidate there with possibly fresh bullish news on US oil stocks when the American Petroleum Institute issues its weekly report late Tuesday, following the close of NYMEX trading.

The May natural gas contract on IPE lost 5.9¢ to the equivalent of $1.68/Mcf.

The average price for OPEC's basket of seven benchmark crudes gained 21¢ to $25.10/bbl Monday.