Oil and Gas Futures Prices Remain Stable Amid Preweekend Trading
Futures prices for crude oil, gasoline, and heating oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) remained largely unchanged on Friday as traders took a breather ahead of the weekend. Despite forecasts of moderate weather, natural gas prices continued to decline, with January natural gas falling by 3.3 cents to settle at $1.685/MMBtu.
Key Takeaways:
- Crude oil futures prices ended the day slightly higher, with the January light, sweet crude contract settling up 3 cents at $16.76/bbl.
- Gasoline prices were stable to lower, with January gasoline recovering a slight 0.02 cents to settle at 51.55 cents/gallon, but February and March gasoline contracts fell by 0.22 and 0.26 cents, respectively.
- Heating oil prices slipped in anticipation of moderate weather, with January heating oil falling 0.32 cents to 48.46 cents/gallon.
- Natural gas prices continued their decline, with January natural gas losing 3.3 cents to settle at $1.685/MMBtu.
- The February crude contract on Nymex rose 3 cents to settle at $16.86/bbl, and March crude rose 4 cents to $17/bbl.
- The Brent crude contract on London's International Petroleum Exchange rose 10 cents to $15.88/bbl.
Statistics:
- January light, sweet crude contract: $16.76/bbl (up 3 cents)
- February crude contract: $16.86/bbl (up 3 cents)
- March crude contract: $17/bbl (up 4 cents)
- January gasoline: 51.55 cents/gallon (up 0.02 cents)
- February gasoline: 50.73 cents/gallon (down 0.22 cents)
- March gasoline: 51.03 cents/gallon (down 0.26 cents)
- January heating oil: 48.46 cents/gallon (down 0.32 cents)
- February heating oil: 48.72 cents/gallon (down 0.35 cents)
- March heating oil: 48.72 cents/gallon (down 0.33 cents)
- January natural gas: $1.685/MMBtu (down 3.3 cents)
- February natural gas: $1.68/MMBtu (down 4.1 cents)
- March natural gas: $1.683/MMBtu (down 3.7 cents)
Sources:
- The Wall Street Journal
- The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex)
- The International Petroleum Exchange (IPE)