Oil is trading higher, around $86.77, heading for a second consecutive weekly gain
Geopolitical risk premium has helped push oil prices higher after Israel increased preparations for a potential attack by Iran on Thursday
Prices are higher despite a surge in the US Dollar following strong US employment data
Options, time spreads, and fund flows show a bullish crude market (BBG)
With the recent rally in oil prices, Brent is up 18% this year above $90, while WTI is trading at the highest price in several months
Several indicators show strong bullish signals in crude amid the backdrop of the OPEC+ supply cuts, which have helped tighten the market
A unique market condition is observed as Brent call options are trading at a premium to puts, a scenario that is rare as oil is generally in put-skew.
The shape of the forward curve indicates a strong market, as the spread between the two nearest December contracts is the widest since October
Speculators have been increasing purchases of oil futures, with managed money positioning in WTI now the most bullish in over a year
Natural gas prices trade modestly higher amid mild weather forecasts and looming storage surplus
May ’24 Henry Hub is up 0.7c this morning to trade around $1.781/MMBtu
The Summer ’24 strip is down 1.5c to $2.231 and Winter ‘24/’25 strip is down 1.2c to $3.323
The EIA reported a 37 Bcf withdrawal for the week ended March 29, slightly below expectations, lowering inventories to 2,259 Bcf and marginally decreasing the surplus to the five-year average
Today's Euro Ensemble stayed unchanged despite regional variances; temperatures are expected to hover around the 10-year average next week, and could remain rangebound through mid-April
Enbridge receives approval to begin service on Louisiana Venice gas pipeline project (P&GJ)
Enbridge's Texas Eastern Transmission subsidiary received approval from U.S. energy regulators to commence service of a natural gas pipeline for its Venice extension project in Louisiana
The Venice extension will supply gas to Venture Global LNG's Plaquemines LNG export plant, with expectations to enter service between 2024 and 2026
The newly approved extension, costing about $500 million, will have a capacity of approximately 1.3 Bcf/d, supporting the Plaquemines plant's capability to process around 2.6 Bcf/d of gas into LNG
ERCOT approves nearly 580 MW of renewable energy for Texas power market in March (S&P)
ERCOT approved 580 MW of renewable energy capacity, mostly solar, battery storage, and wind, alongside one 50-MW natural gas peaker nearing commercial operation
Solar generation led with 203.5 MW, closely followed by 201.1 MW of battery storage and a 175-MW wind project
March's synchronization included almost 1.6 GW of capacity, led by solar (698.4 MW) and battery storage (697.2 MW), with wind (163.2 MW) significantly trailing
Over 2 GW of new renewable generation in March contributed to a nearly 22% decrease in ERCOT North Hub day-ahead on-peak prices, averaging under $21.50/MWh, compared to March 2023
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