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NEWS
Petroleum futures were trading in the black in the overnight session on Friday amid supportive economic data releases from Europe, strength in European and US shares, and weakness in the US dollar. Market participants awaited Canadian Labor Force Survey data, Canadian merchandise trade data, the US employment situation report, US international trade in goods and services data, US factory orders, and the weekly US rig counts from Baker Hughes for further direction.
Asian stock markets closed mixed overnight with the Nikkei falling 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.1% and the Hang Seng lost 0.4%. In European economic news, the UK Construction PMI for November came in at 54.7, above expectations at 52.0, and German manufacturers’ orders growth of 2.9% in October beat the 1.5% consensus. Additionally, Italian retail sales rose 0.6% in October, while forecasts called for a 0.7% drop. European shares were trading flat to higher this morning with the DAX down 0.05%, while the CAC 40 was up 0.32%, and the FTSE 100 had gained 0.77%. US stock market index futures were seeing gains of between 0.3% (Nasdaq f, S&P f) and 0.4% (Dow f), as of this writing. Also supportive for crude prices, the US dollar index continued its slide and was down 0.1% this morning.
Petroleum futures strengthened on Thursday amid gains in US shares, weakness in the US dollar index, and news that OPEC+ had reached an agreement on its January output policy. WTI crude rose 36 cents to settle at $45.64/bbl and Brent crude added 46 cents to close at $48.71/bbl. RBOB futures rose 2.18 cents to $1.2617/g and ULSD (HO) futures gained 2.71 cents to $1.3933/g. According to Platts, New York Harbor ULSD barge differentials to NYMEX strengthened by 50 points to -0.55c/g, while HSHO and ULSHO barge differentials held steady at -15.30c/g and -8.75c/g, respectively. Also per Platts, propane prices rose along with crude prices as Mt. Belvieu LST prices rose by 87.5 points to 59.000c/g and non-LST prices strengthened by 75 points to average 59.375c/g. Conway spot prices rose by 75 points, hitting 55.500c/g.
NYMEX natural gas futures tumbled yesterday and settled 27.3 cents (9.8%) lower at $2.507/mmBtu amid a weaker two-week heating degree day outlook and a bearish weekly storage report from the EIA. The EIA reported a 1bcf withdrawal into underground storage for the week ended November 27, well below expectations at 12bcf. The latest 1-5 day forecast (EC) calls mostly below-normal temperatures on the East Coast, while mixed but mostly above-normal temperatures are expected in the Midwest. The 6-10 day forecasts (EC) see above-normal temperatures in the Midwest, but near-normal temperatures are seen in the Northeast.