MARKET WATCH: Oil makes small gains; gas price continues decline
20.05.12
There were small-change gains in oil commodities Dec. 29, but front-month crude failed to rise above the $100/bbl barrier in the New York market. Natural gas prices continued to decline.
“Crude ended the day flat, as petroleum inventories surprised to the upside,” said analysts in the Houston office of Raymond James & Associates Inc. “Natural gas was a much more interesting story, as prices fell 3% to close just 3¢ above the $3 threshold, as a bearish natural gas storage report teamed up with an Energy Information Agency report that placed natural gas production from the Lower 48 at a record high of 71.3 bcfd, up 8.3% year over year.”
The SIG Oil Exploration & Production Index and the Oil Service Index were up 1% and 2%, respectively, despite lack of support from commodity prices. Raymond James analysts reported “a surprisingly strong pre-holiday session” in the equities market as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index “scraped its way back into positive territory for the year, gaining 1% on positive signs from the US housing and labor markets.” However, commodity and equity prices were down in early trading Dec. 30.
Source: Oil & Gas Journal