Futures Markets
Crude prices gain slightly
Crude oil prices were up slightly by early afternoon in New York on Monday. June contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were 7 cents higher to $66.53 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nymex June gasoline was also higher, adding 3 cents to $2.29 per gallon. Heating oil prices held [...]
Middle East events drive oil prices higher
Crude oil prices were up on Friday after security forces in Saudi Arabia arrested nearly 200 militants they said were planning to attack oil facilities there. Also sending prices higher was a new US intelligence estimate that says Iran will have bomb-grade nuclear material sooner than previously forecast. In addition, gasoline demand in [...]
Oil drops on Iranian comments
Oil prices were lower on Thursday after comments from Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator led to hopes that tensions between his nation and the West over Iranian nuclear ambitions could ease soon. Ali Larijani said, in a joint news conference with EU negotiators that the two sides were getting near to a “united view” on [...]
Inventories report sends crude oil prices up
Oil prices were higher on Wednesday after the weekly US inventories report from the Energy Information Agency, part of the US Department of Energy, produced results that surprised analysts and traders. While crude oil inventories had been expected to decline by 1.2 million barrels in the week ending April 20, they were actually up [...]
Crude oil prices drop by more than $1 per barrel
Profit-taking sent crude oil prices lower on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s weekly US inventories report. Analysts expect that gasoline and distillates stockpiles will have grown slightly last week. However, crude oil inventories are expected to be lower by just over a million barrels. Prices had risen on Monday in response to worries [...]
Nigeria worries send crude oil prices higher
Crude oil prices were higher on Monday amid concerns that Nigerian oil supplies could be disrupted after the presidential election there. International elections monitors have called the election a failure, citing accusations of vote rigging and demands for new elections from opposition parties there. June contracts for Brent crude added 63 cents to [...]
Price of WTI slightly lower
Oil prices were slightly lower by midafternoon on Friday. May contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 25 cents to $63.50 per barrel. May Nymex gasoline was also lower, dropping 3 cents to $2.17 per gallon, while May Nymex heating oil fell 1 cent to $1.90 per [...]
IEA says OPEC has tightened supplies too much
Crude oil prices were up on Thursday as continuing refinery problems, including a new shutdown at a Citgo refinery in Louisiana, mean less gasoline available for drivers as the summer driving season nears in the United States. In addition, the International Energy Agency has said that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has tightened [...]
US gasoline stockpiles lower last week
Crude oil prices rose after the US Energy Information Administration released its newest figures on inventories on Wednesday. The data shows that crude oil supplies were 700,000 barrels higher in the week ending April 6, to a total of 333.4 million barrels in storage. Distillates stockpiles also rose during the week, by 100,000 [...]
China demand sends crude oil higher
Crude oil prices were higher on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s release of the most recent US inventories report, which is expected to show that gasoline stockpiles declined again last week. In addition, new data showed that demand is growing in China, where imports were up by 8.9 percent in March compared to the same [...]
WTI drops by $1.03 to below $64 per barrel
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude was lower on Monday, dropping by $1.03 to $63.25 per barrel in midday trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price of Nymex heating oil held steady at $1.86 per gallon, while Nymex gasoline was up 1 cent to $2.11 per gallon. Natural gas gained [...]
Oil prices dip on sailors’ release
Oil prices were lower on Thursday as the 15 British sailors who had been held by the Iranian government arrived back in the UK. Brent crude front-month contracts dropped 34 cents to $68.06 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange in London, while West Texas Intermediate crude fell 28 cents to $64.10 per barrel on [...]
US gasoline inventories lower last week
Crude oil prices were lower in the US on Wednesday after an announcement by Iranian Preisdent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the 15 British sailors his country has held on charges that they had entered Iranian waters will be released. Also helping send prices lower was the weekly US inventories report from the US Energy Information [...]
Prices on Brent, WTI decline substantially
With some signs that a diplomatic solution might be found in the standoff between Iran and the UK over 15 British military personnel held by the Iranians, crude oil prices dropped on Tuesday. Brent crude for May delivery was $1.16 lower to $67.58 per barrel late in the afternoon on the Intercontinental Exchange in [...]
Brent crude trading at $3 above WTI
Crude oil prices were mixed by early afternoon in New York on Monday as Iran and the UK remained at odds over 15 British naval personnel being held by the Iranians, whom the Iranians accuse of having crossed into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf. Since the crisis began 12 days ago, Brent crude [...]