July WTI crude oil (CLN23) this morning is up +2.02 (+3.01%), and July RBOB gasoline (RBN23) is up +6.71 (+2.70%). July Nymex natural gas (NGN23) is up +0.072 (+3.18%).
Crude oil and gasoline prices this morning are sharply higher. A slump in the dollar index today to a 3-week low is bullish for energy prices. Also, the outlook for China to boost its stimulus measures is supportive for economic growth and energy demand.
July nat-gas this morning is sharply higher on the outlook for increased power demand in Texas, the largest nat-gas consuming state. The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said due to soaring temperatures this week, it expects air-conditioning use in Texas to climb to a record 80.3 gigawatts on Thursday and even higher on Friday. U.S. nat-gas prices also have carryover support from a rally in European nat-gas prices today to a 5-week high.
Crude prices rallied today on a Bloomberg report that said the Chinese government is considering a broad package of stimulus measures. Crude also garnered support after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) today unexpectedly lowered its seven-day reverse repurchase rate, which bolsters the outlook for a cut in one-year policy loans on Thursday.
Today's U.S. May CPI eased to +4.0% y/y from +4.9% y/y in Apr, better than expectations of +4.1% y/y and the smallest increase in more than two years. The easing of U.S. consumer prices bolsters the case for the Fed to pause raising interest rates at the Tue/Wed FOMC meeting and is supportive of crude prices.
A bearish factor for crude is the weakness in Chinese energy demand, which has resulted in higher Chinese crude oil stockpiles. According to analytics firm Kpler, China's crude oil stockpiles rose to a 2-year high in May of 966 million bbl, well above the five-year average of 858 million bbl.
Crude prices jumped last Monday after OPEC+ on June 4 agreed to maintain its crude production levels. However, Saudi Arabia said it will voluntarily cut its crude output by 1 million bpd starting in July, and Saudi Energy Minister Price Abdulaziz bin Salman said he "will do whatever is necessary to bring stability to the oil market." He also said that next month's additional cuts could be extended, but they will keep the market "in suspense" about whether this will happen. OPEC May crude production fell -500,00 bpd to a 16-month low of 28.26 million bpd.
Crude oil prices are being undercut by signs that Russia has not delivered on its threat to cut crude output. Tanker-tracking data from Bloomberg shows Russia's crude exports in the four weeks to June 4 rose to 3.73 million bpd from a revised 3.68 million bpd in the four-week period to May 28. Crude shipments from Russian ports are +1.4 million bpd higher than at the end of 2022, with most of the crude going to India and China. Russia has halted the publication of crude and condensate production data in an attempt to disguise if it has actually cut crude output.
In a bullish factor, Vortexa reported Monday that the amount of crude stored on tankers that have been stationary for at least a week fell -4.2% w/w to 101.76 million bbl in the week ended June 9.
Last Wednesday's EIA report showed that (1) U.S. crude oil inventories as of June 2 were -2.2% below the seasonal 5-year average, (2) gasoline inventories were -7.5% below the seasonal 5-year average, and (3) distillate inventories were -15.6% below the 5-year seasonal average. U.S. crude oil production in the week ended June 2 rose +1.6% w/w to a 3-year high of 12.4 million bpd, only 0.7 million bpd (-5.3%) below the Feb-2020 record-high of 13.1 million bpd.
Baker Hughes reported last Friday that active U.S. oil rigs in the week ended June 9 rose by +1 to 556 rigs. That is well below the 2-1/2 year high of 627 rigs posted on December 2 and just above the prior week's 13-month low of 555 rigs. U.S. active oil rigs have more than tripled from the 17-year low of 172 rigs seen in Aug 2020, signaling an increase in U.S. crude oil production capacity.
On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
