Coquest

Your Daily Energy Report for March 20, 2025

Posted on 2025-03-20

Crude Oil

Crude Oil futures for April settled up $1.10 or 1.638% at $68.26. Oil prices continued to rise on Thursday as geopolitical tensions play a key role in shaping market trends. Renewed conflict in the Middle East has escalated following Israel’s latest ground offensive in Gaza and ongoing U.S. airstrikes targeting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Meanwhile, hopes for a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war remain distant, despite a temporary pause in strikes on energy infrastructure. On the supply side, market conditions appear relatively balanced. Gasoline inventories have declined for a third straight week, outpacing expectations, while crude oil stockpiles have grown for the second consecutive week. Additionally, OPEC+ has announced plans to raise production by 138,000 barrels per day in April, marking its first output increase since 2022 and signaling a potential shift in market supply dynamics.
 

Natural Gas

Natural Gas futures for April settled down -$.272 or -6.405% at $3.975. Natural gas prices dropped today following a larger-than-anticipated storage build reported by the EIA. For the week ending March 14, U.S. utilities added 9 billion cubic feet of gas to storage, significantly exceeding the expected 3 billion cubic feet. This marks the first inventory increase since November 2024, reducing the storage shortfall. Currently, gas stockpiles remain 26.8% lower than the same period last year and 10% below the five-year average. At the same time, LNG exports surged to a record 15.7 bcfd in March, supported by expanded capacity at Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG facility. In the coming weeks, temperatures are projected to remain close to seasonal norms through early April. On the supply side, natural gas output in the Lower 48 states climbed to 105.7 bcfd in March.

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