Oil Prices Edge Upward

Oil Prices Edge Upward
The WTI and Brent contracts showed modest gains Monday.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil futures started the week showing modest gains.

The WTI for June delivery added 31 cents Monday to settle at $62.25 per barrel. The benchmark bottomed out at $60.04 and peaked at $62.74 during the early week session.

Brent crude oil also finished the day higher. The July Brent contract price added 39 cents, settling at $71.24 per barrel.

Tom McNulty, Houston-based managing director with Great American Group, told Rigzone that oil prices likely would be lower barring certain world events nowadays.

“I think Brent and WTI would be trading lower, but for several geopolitical issues, particularly the ever-increasing tensions in play with Iran right now,” said McNulty.

Moreover, he observed the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reported that the inventory of drilled but uncompleted (DUC) wells has grown markedly over the past year.

“On Friday, the EIA reported that the DUCs count in the U.S. is still climbing and is now 26 percent higher than it was one year ago,” McNulty said. “The supply potential from the U.S., Russia and OPEC, in light of demand forecasts, should be pushing crude oil prices lower by more than they have fallen.”

Reformulated gasoline (RBOB) often tracks oil price movements, but that was not the case Monday. June RBOB futures shed three cents to end the day just under $2 per gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas also edged downward Monday. The June gas contract lost four cents to settle at $2.52.



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