Commodity Corner: Crude Settles Flat after 25-Month High
Crude futures remained flat Thursday, pulling back from a 25-month high as data showed record oil demand in China.
Light, sweet crude settled unchanged at $87.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures price peaked at $88.63, the highest intraday price since Oct. 9, 2008, and bottomed out at $87.54.
Industrial production in China grew by 13.1 percent in Oct. compared to the same period in 2009, increasing oil usage to 8.92 million barrels per day (bpd). According to the National Statistical Bureau, China's refineries hit record throughput at 8.27 million bpd. The 12.2-percent increase from Oct. 2009 to Oct. 2010 is a key bellwether of crude demand growth.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) also provided support for oil prices by raising its oil consumption forecast for 2010 and 2011. It increased its expectations from global oil demand to 1.17 million bpd from 120,000 for 2011.
Analysts said trading volume was light Thursday due to Veteran's Day, a holiday for many in the U.S.
Henry Hub natural gas, meanwhile, fell 12 cents to $3.93 per thousand cubic feet.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) Thursday reported an increase of 20 million cubic feet of natural gas in U.S. stockpiles for the week ended Nov. 5. Total gas in storage has reached a record of 3.84 trillion cubic feet, 31 barrel cubic feet higher than the previous year.
Analysts claim that due to milder weather, the demand for heating is not as high. Natural gas fluctuated between $3.92 and $4.13 Thursday.
Meanwhile, gasoline futures for December delivery slipped by less than a penny Thursday to settle at $2.24 a gallon. Gasoline peaked at $2.25 and bottomed out at $2.23.
- Falcon Oil Declares Commercial Flow Test Results for Shenandoah Well
- Macquarie Strategists Expect Brent Oil Price to Grind Higher
- Japan Failing to Meet Corporate Demand for Clean Power: Amazon
- UK Oil Regulator Publishes New Emissions Reduction Plan
- Pennsylvania County Joins List of Local Govts Suing Big Oil over Climate
- PetroChina Posts Higher Annual Profit on Higher Production
- US, SKorea Launch Task Force to Stop Illicit Refined Oil Flows into NKorea
- McDermott Settles Reficar Dispute
- Russian Navy Enters Warship-Crowded Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks
- USA Commercial Crude Oil Inventories Increase
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- Oil Demand Outpaces Expectations, Testing Calculus on Peak Crude
- House Passes Protecting American Energy Production Act
- TotalEnergies Restarts Production in Denmark's Biggest Gas Field
- USA Oil and Gas Job Figures Jump
- Republican Lawmakers Say IEA Has Abandoned Energy Security Mission
- Blockchain Demands Attention in Oil and Gas
- Houthis Warn Saudi Arabia of Retaliation If It Backs USA Attacks
- Macquarie Sees USA Oil Production Exiting 2024 at 14MM Barrels Per Day
- Summer Pump Prices Set to Hit $4 a Gallon Just as Americans Hit the Road
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Another Major Oilfield Discovery
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea