Coquest
News
News
Your Daily Energy Report for April 24, 2024
Posted on 2024-04-24
Crude Oil
Crude Oil futures for May settled down -$.35 or -.42% at $82.91. Oil prices experienced a decline on Wednesday due to diminished concerns regarding conflict in the Middle East and a slowdown in business activity within the United States. However, the decrease was moderated by a reduction in U.S. crude oil inventories. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a notable decrease of 6.4 million barrels in U.S. crude stockpiles for the week ending April 19, contrasting with expectations of an increase according to analysts polled by Reuters. Anticipation of the U.S. central bank initiating rate reductions later this year could potentially boost economic growth, consequently stimulating oil demand. Despite a decrease in worries about geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the Israel-Hamas conflict persisted, with intensified shelling reported on Tuesday. Sources indicated preparations by Israel to evacuate Rafah ahead of an anticipated assault on the city.Natural Gas
Natural Gas futures for May settled down-$.115 or -5.492% at $1.979. U.S. natural gas futures experienced a decline exceeding 5%, driven by expectations of reduced heating demand in the forthcoming week and in anticipation of the weekly federal storage report. Analysts anticipated that gas reserves were over 35% higher than the usual levels for this period, influenced by both elevated starting storage levels and a mild winter. Gas demand, encompassing exports, is projected to decrease to 92.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) next week, down from 98.0 bcfd this week. Conversely, daily liquefied natural gas (LNG) feed gas hit 12.4 bcfd, with gas supply to Freeport LNG's Texas export terminal rising to 0.5 bcfd from 0.1 bcfd last Friday. Meanwhile, US gas production has fallen by approximately 10% this year, due to energy companies scaling back production.