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Your Daily Energy Report for May 01, 2024
Posted on 2024-05-01
Crude Oil
Crude Oil futures for June settled down -$2.93 or -3.576% at $79.00. Oil prices suffered a big hit on Wednesday to a low not seen in seven weeks. This decline was triggered by unexpected growth in U.S. crude inventories, along with prospects of a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East. Additionally, optimism waned regarding immediate interest rate cuts in the U.S., which could potentially stimulate oil demand. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an unforeseen increase of 7.3 million barrels in crude stocks for the week ending April 26, while gasoline inventories also saw an unexpected rise of 0.3 million barrels. Analysts had anticipated a decline of 1.1 million barrels in gasoline stocks. In the Middle East, there were growing expectations of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, fueled by renewed diplomatic efforts by the U.S. and Egypt. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve opted to maintain interest rates at their current levels, signaling a cautious stance with a possibility of future rate reductions, despite concerns raised by recent inflation data.Natural Gas
Natural Gas futures for June settled down -$.059 or -2.963% at $1.932. U.S. natural gas futures continued to dip today, remaining near their recent low point of three weeks. This decline was influenced by indications of abundant supply. Recent statistics revealed that domestic LNG exports decreased by 1.55 million metric tons to 6.19 million in April, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decrease. Concurrently, domestic inventories climbed by 92 billion cubic feet (Bcf) compared to the preceding week, as indicated by the most recent data from the EIA, showing a 21% rise from the same period last year. On a positive note, LNG feedgas surged to a three-week peak of 12.9 bcfd on Monday, helping to mitigate the decline in natural gas futures.