Weekly Fundamental Outlook For Crude Oil

Despite brief rebound to 74.82 after release of strong USD GDP, crude oil price dived to one month low at 72.43 amid rally in USD. The benchmark contract ended the week at 72.89, losing -2.2% on weekly basis and recorded the third consecutive weekly decline after surging to 83.95, the highest level in 15 months, in the beginning of January.

Fundamentals in the US energy market remain weak. The US Energy Department reported crude oil inventory dropped -3.89 mmb to 326.7 mmb in the week ended January 22. Cushing stocks also drew-0.69 mmb, the 5th consecutive weekly decline. We believe the main reason for the huge decline in crude stocks was the closure of the Houston Ship Channel, which serves the largest US petroleum port, shut for 2 days because of fog. It was reopened on January 21. Also, the oil-tanker spill in the Sabine Neches Waterway has led refiners to cut back production. We expect to see another draw next week as the oil spill is still impacting imports.

Both gasoline and distillate rose +1.99 mmb to 229.4 mmb and +0.36 mmb to 157.5 mmb respectively. Demand for gasoline edged slightly high on weekly basis but the level at 8.619M bpd remained below last year's level. Beware that last year's demand was very weak as it was in the midst of the worst of economic crisis. Distillate inventory built modestly compared with market exception or a draw. Imports surged +142%, on weekly basis, to 0.658M bpd, the highest level never seen since 2006. Demand dropped -2.6% to 3.725M bpd during the week. The level was still -12.5% below last year's level.

In coming few years, oil demand will be heavily relying on growth in Asian market. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), preliminary data indicated that China's total oil demand soared +16.4% yoy in November, driven by both government spending and supply disruption due to cold weather. Demand is anticipated to have increase +7.2% to 8.5M bpd in 2009, followed by a +4.3% rise to 8.8M bpd in 2010. China takes up almost 10% of world oil demand and that's why market sentiment has deteriorated dramatically after China guided yields higher, increased required reserve ratio and limited bank lending. The market worried that the growth engine will lose momentum this year.

Other than China, India is another hot spot. Total oil demand probably rose +5.4% in 2009, followed by another +3% this year. Robust oil consumption in India was driven by gasoline demand which, in turn, was due to strong car sales.....Read the entire article.



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Natural Gas Advances to One Year High on Cold Weather Forecast

Natural gas futures rose to their highest settlement price in a year, exceeding $6 per million British thermal units as cold weather across the U.S. lifted demand for heating fuel. Temperatures in St. Louis, Memphis and Dallas will be below normal for the next week, according to a forecast from MDA Federal Inc.’s EarthSat Energy Weather. Cold weather in recent weeks cut a stockpile surplus to 14 percent for the week ended Dec. 25 from 16 percent at the start of the month. “Storage is going from materially oversupplied to more manageable inventory levels,” said Tom Orr, director of research at Weeden & Co., a brokerage in Greenwich, Connecticut. “It looks like it’s going to continue to be pretty cold here.”

Natural gas for February delivery advanced 37.2 cents, or 6.6 percent, to settle at $6.009 per million Btu at 2:50 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price was the highest since Jan. 5, 2009. The Energy Department may say tomorrow that U.S. stockpiles dropped 155 billion cubic feet last week, based on the median of 21 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The “seasonal norm” withdrawal is 83 billion, Scott Speaker, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s natural gas strategist in New York, said in a note to clients yesterday. “We see a net withdrawal of 144 billion cubic feet, a draw that would significantly tighten the current year over year surplus and the surplus compared to the past five year average,” he said.....Read the entire article.

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Oil Hits Five Week High, Nears $80

Oil prices gained for a fourth straight session, climbing to their highest level in more than five weeks as cold weather swept across the country and the dollar weakened. Crude oil for February delivery rose 72 cents, or nearly 1%, to settle at $78.77 a barrel, the highest since Nov. 18, when prices settled at $79.58 a barrel.

Cooler than normal temperatures have supported rising oil prices, said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group. He added that temperatures in the Northeast have been about five degrees lower than average and are expected to remain that way for the near term.

Prices were also boosted by a softer dollar, which edged lower against its major rivals. Crude oil, like other commodities, is priced in dollars, and a weaker greenback can help support prices.....Read the entire post.

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Oil Inventories Saw Huge Declines Across the Board

The inventory report by the US Energy Department surprised the market as crude inventory fell -4.84 mmb to 327.5 mmb in the week ended December 18. The draw was significantly more than market expectation and represented the third consecutive decline. Although stockpile at Cushing, Oklahoma rose +0.57 mmb, the pace of increase has moderated and should narrow the discount of WTI crude to Brent crude.

Distillate stockpile declined -3.03 mmb, following a -2.95 mmb draw in the prior week. This is the second consecutive weekly fall. The market anticipates further draw in coming weeks as the weather gets abnormally cold. Gasoline inventory dipped -0.88 mmb to 216.3 mmb, offsetting the build in the previous week.

Rally in crude oil price accelerated after the report. The benchmark contract surged to 76.53, the highest in 3 weeks. For oil products, heating oil price jumped to 2.038 while RBOB gasoline also climbed to 1.965.....Here is the charts!

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Oil Trades Above $74 on Speculation Supplies Dropped Last Week

Oil held steady above $74 a barrel in New York before a U.S. Energy Department report likely to show crude stockpiles fell last week as temperatures dropped. The report today is expected to show oil inventories in the U.S., the world’s biggest energy consumer, shrank by 1.6 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 18, according to the median estimate of 16 analysts polled by Bloomberg News. Data from the industry funded American Petroleum Institute yesterday showed commercially held U.S. inventories fell by 3.71 million barrels.

“Due to cold weather, we are seeing stock draws in crude and that is the supporting factor these days,” said Hannes Loacker, an analyst at Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich. “It brings the inventory levels nearer to the five year average.” Crude oil for February delivery rose as much as 47 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $74.87 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was at $74.66 as of 10:36 a.m. London time. Futures closed yesterday at $74.40, the highest settlement since Dec. 4. There will be no trading on Dec. 25 for Christmas and on Jan. 1 for New Year’s Day.....Read the entire article.


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Crude Consolidates Just Below our Previous 3rd Tier Downtrend Line

Crude futures are hanging just below our previous 3rd tier downtrend line after posting a solid recovery from our 1st tier uptrend line. Crude futures picked themselves up after Friday's sell off on large volume following broad based depreciation of the Dollar coupled with the S&P breaking through 1050. Investors returned to risk in the aftermath of better than expected global economic data. The most positive catalyst for crude futures was the impressive showing in Core Retail Sales on Tuesday. Improvement in consumption helps raise the outlook for present and future demand for commodities such as crude. As for the supply side, the U.S. reported another large inventory shortage for the third time in the past four weeks. The dramatic drop in supply combined.....Read the entire article

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BP Says ‘Little Evidence’ of Recovery After Net Falls

BP, Europe’s second biggest oil company, said profit fell 53 percent on lower energy prices and there is “little evidence” of a recovery in demand. Second quarter net income fell to $4.39 billion, or 23.16 cents a share, from $9.36 billion, or 49.23 cents, in the year earlier period, London based BP said today in a statement. Excluding one time items and inventory changes, earnings beat analyst estimates. Almost two years into a turnaround led by Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, BP said estimated cost cuts would exceed an earlier target as it increased production to more than 4 million barrels a day.....Complete Story

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Daily Crude Oil Prices From Market Masters

Yesterday's sharp rebound in crude oil prices reflected an increased appetite for risk as equity markets rallied thereby precipitating a consequent slide in the US Dollar. In addition the oil market appears to have discounted the higher than expected gasoline stocks, instead taking a bullish cue from the larger than anticipated draw in the crude inventory. It is interesting to note that it is exactly one year since the great oil price spike (14th July 2008 - Bastille Day) but following a drop of almost.....Complete Story



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Natural Gas Futures Surge After Report Shows Narrowing Surplus

Natural gas futures surged to their biggest gain in four months after a government report showed a narrowing U.S. stockpile surplus. An inventory increase of 90 billion cubic feet in the week ended July 10 sent supplies to 2.886 trillion cubic feet, the Energy Department said. The total was 18.7 percent higher than the five-year average, down from 19.3 percent in last week’s report and the fourth consecutive narrowing. “We’re seeing the impact of the rig count drops,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFG Best in Chicago.....Complete Story

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