Light, sweet crude oil prices settled under $60/bbl for the fourth consecutive day on the New York market Nov. 15 while Brent settled under $70/bbl for a third consecutive day.
The US Energy Information Administration said US crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 10.3 million bbl for the week ended Nov. 9.
EIA released its weekly inventory on Nov. 15, a day later than normal because of the closure of the federal government on Nov. 12 for the observance of Veterans Day.
At 442.1 million bbl, US crude oil inventories are about 5% above the 5-year average for this time of year, the report said.
The Weekly Petroleum Status Report showed US oil production was 11.7 million b/d for the week ended Nov. 9, up 100,000 b/d from the 11.6 million b/d for the week ended Nov. 2.
Energy prices
The December light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange added 21¢ to $56.46/bbl. The January contract gained 24¢ to settle at $56.68/bbl.
Natural gas fell by 80¢ to close at a rounded $4.04/MMbtu on Nov. 15, ending a 2-day price rally that had started on Nov. 13. Traders and analysts largely attributed the gas price spike to cold US temperatures. Gas prices fell as EIA reported a gain in the underground gas storage levels (OGJ Online, Nov. 15, 2018).
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for December decreased 2¢ to $2.07/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for December fell less than 1¢ to a rounded $1.55/gal.
Brent crude oil for January increased 50¢ to $66.62/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The February contract was up 42¢ to $66.89/bbl. The gas oil contract for December was $637.75/tonne, down $6.75.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes for Nov. 15 averaged $65.28/bbl, up 77¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
