The February light, sweet crude oil price dropped moderately on the New York market Jan. 16 but still settled above $63.70/bbl while the March Brent crude oil price dropped more than $1 on the London market.
Oil prices have gained overall since Jan. 1 with Brent settling above $70/bbl on Jan. 5. It was the highest Brent settlement since December 2014.
Analysts said market observers await release of the US weekly oil and product inventory on Jan. 17. International market reports are scheduled to be released later in the week.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will publish its monthly oil market report Jan 18. The International Energy Agency is scheduled to release its oil market report on Jan. 19.
“The focus has been on how higher prices will affect production, but there has not been a lot of focus on what the higher prices will do to demand,” said Olivier Jakob, managing director of Petromatrix. “I would start to be a bit more conservative about consumption.”
Some oil speculators believe crude prices will continue higher, but prices are seeing some resistance, Jakob said.
Commerzbank analysts in a recent note said, “OPEC has no scope for expanding production.”
Energy prices
The February light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 57¢ on Jan. 16 to $63.73/bbl. The March contract decreased 56¢ to $63.67/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas price for February fell 7¢ to a rounded $3.13/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas price jumped to $5.04/MMbtu.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for February declined 2¢ to a rounded $2.06/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for February fell 1¢ to a rounded $1.84/gal.
The Brent crude contract for March on London’s ICE fell $1.11 to settle at $69.15/bbl on Jan. 16. The April contract was down $1.05 to $68.78/bbl. The gas oil contract for February was $614.75/tonne, up $2.
OPEC’s basket of crudes was $67.54/bbl on Jan. 16, down 24¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
