MARKET WATCH: NYMEX crude settles below $54/bbl, Brent below $63/bbl
Nov. 21, 2018
Light, sweet crude oil prices dropped more than $3.70 Nov. 20 on the New York market while Brent crude oil prices in London fell more than $4 the same day.
US President Donald Trump issued a statement Nov. 20 vowing to continue backing Saudi Arabia even though investigators concluded that Saudi agents killed US resident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
“Saudi Arabia, if we broke with them, I think your oil prices would go through the roof,” Trump told reporters. “I’ve kept them down. They’ve helped me keep them down.”
The US Central Intelligence Agency reportedly concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s death. On Nov. 21, Trump said, “Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t.”
Energy prices
The January light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed Nov. 20 at $53.43/bbl, down $3.77. The February contract dropped $3.75 to $53.57/bbl.
Natural gas for December fell nearly 18¢ to close at $4.52/MMbtu on Nov. 20.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for December decreased 9¢ to $2.99/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for December fell 9¢ to a rounded $1.49/gal.
Brent crude oil for January plunged $4.25 to $62.53/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The February contract fell $4.24 to $62.84/bbl. The gas oil contract for December was $613/tonne, down $17.50.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes for Nov. 20 reached $64.02/bbl, down $1.44.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
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.
