Home > Chemical News

Chemical News

NYMEX front-month crude settles at all-time high of $90.46/barrel

https://www.chemnet.com   Oct 26,2007 Platts
Front-month crude on NYMEX settled at an all-time high of $90.46/barrel for a gain of $3.36/b Thursday as the energy sector continued to soar in the wake of Wednesday's Energy Information weekly US oil data report.

The EIA reported a 5.3 million barrel draw in crude stocks as imports plummeted to 9.1 million b/d. While US commercial crude stocks still maintain a surplus against the five-year average, that overhang has eroded by 20.4 million barrels in the past three months. In addition, stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma--home of the NYMEX delivery point--edged down 200,000 barrels to 18.2 million barrels. But in essence, stocks in that region have been unchanged for the past six weeks as the backwardation in the futures market discourages stock-building.

December/January settled at plus $1.22/b after settling the previous session at plus 97 cents.

A floor source said that both non-commercials, which are primarily comprised of hedge funds and commercials, which are composed of oil companies, banks, and refiners were on the buy side, leaving a selling vacuum.

Front-month heating oil settled at an all-time high of $2.4084/gal, for a gain of 6.64 cents on the session.

November RBOB settled 8.83 cents higher at $2.2358/gal, with gasoline one of the tightest segments on the complex. Gasoline stocks fell 2 million barrels the week ending October 19 and, at 193.8 million barrels, were 13.6 million barrels below year-ago levels and 5.1 million barrels below the five-year average, EIA reported on Wednesday.

"Although geopolitical concerns mainly related to the Turkey/Kurdish issues and increasing rhetoric between the US and Iran were widely mentioned as driving forces behind today's upside extension, we would continue to suggest that yesterday's report provided an underpinning for another major leg that will need only minor supportive headlines to be sustained," energy consultant Jim Ritterbusch said in a report.
 Print  |    add to Favorites  |    Close