Energy
Wednesday, July 10th, 2024 1:10 pm EDT
Key Points
- OPEC’s Demand and Growth Forecast: OPEC maintained its oil demand growth forecast at 2.2 million barrels per day for 2024 and slightly revised global economic growth for this year to 2.9%, driven by better-than-expected performance in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and a Eurozone rebound.
- Current Energy Prices: West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for August contracts is at $81.34 per barrel, Brent for September is at $84.48 per barrel, RBOB Gasoline for August is at $2.51 per gallon, and Natural Gas for August is at $2.35 per thousand cubic feet. WTI and Brent have seen year-to-date gains, while natural gas has declined.
- Market Conditions and Expectations: The oil market is awaiting U.S. inventory data to confirm a tightening market. Recent data indicated a significant draw in crude and gasoline inventories. The recent oil price rally has stalled due to revived ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel and the impact of Hurricane Beryl, which caused the closure of the port of Houston and may affect oil exports.
Oil prices remained stable on Wednesday as OPEC projected solid demand supported by stronger economic growth this year. OPEC maintained its oil demand growth forecast at 2.2 million barrels per day for 2024. The cartel also slightly revised global economic growth for this year to 2.9%, citing better-than-expected first-half performance in Brazil, Russia, India, and China, as well as a rebound in the Eurozone.
Current energy prices reflect this trend:
- West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for August contracts stood at $81.34 per barrel, a slight decrease of 0.09%, with a year-to-date gain of 13.5%.
- Brent crude for September contracts was priced at $84.48 per barrel, down by 18 cents, showing a 9.7% increase year-to-date.
- RBOB Gasoline for August contracts was at $2.51 per gallon, down by 2 cents or 0.83%, and up 19.2% year-to-date.
- Natural Gas for August contracts remained relatively unchanged at $2.35 per thousand cubic feet, with a year-to-date decline of 6.7%.
The oil market is currently anticipating U.S. inventory data to confirm a tightening market. Despite a slow start to summer fuel demand, a significant draw of 12.2 million barrels of crude and 2.2 million barrels of gasoline for the week ending June 28 indicated increased activity. Analysts polled by Reuters expect crude stocks to have decreased by 1.3 million barrels and gasoline inventories to have declined by 600,000 barrels. The Department of Energy is scheduled to release official data at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The recent rally in oil prices has stalled, with prices falling for three consecutive days. According to Tamas Varga, an analyst at oil broker PVM, the latest selling round is attributed to revived ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel, as well as the impact of Hurricane Beryl. Although Gulf Coast oil infrastructure avoided significant damage, the port of Houston was closed, leading to market expectations of declining oil exports. This could result in increased inventories when the next set of data is released.
For the full original article on CNBC, please click here: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/10/crude-oil-prices-today.html
