Light, sweet crude oil declined slightly on the New York market Mar. 5 while Brent crude oil prices gained modestly in London. Analysts said US oil futures traders awaited the weekly US government inventory report on oil and product levels.
The American Petroleum Institute late Mar. 5 released its own weekly inventory data showing a 7.3 million-bbl build in US crude supplies for the week ended Mar. 1. The US Energy Information Administration was scheduled to release its inventory report on Mar. 6.
Analysts surveyed by the Wall Street Journal expected the EIA report to show US crude inventories rose 1.6 million bbl for the week ended Mar. 1.
Commerbank analysts said, “Oil prices thus face further headwind during the course of the day.”
Energy prices
The April contract for light, sweet crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 3¢ to settle at $56.56/bbl on Mar. 5. The contract for May delivery also fell 3¢ to settle at $56.94/bbl.
NYMEX natural gas for April increased nearly 3¢ to a rounded $2.88/MMbtu on Mar. 5.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for April increased less than 1¢ to remain at $2.01/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for April gained nearly 2¢ to a rounded $1.77/gal.
Brent crude for May delivery gained 19¢ to $65.86/bbl while the June contract increased 18¢ to settle at $65.92/bbl.
The gas oil contract for March fell $3.50 to $619.25/tonne on Mar. 5.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes was $64.98/bbl on Mar. 5, up 12¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
