Nymex Overview: Crude, Product Futures Edge Up; Helene Impact in Focus — OPIS

Petroleum futures rose slightly by midday Friday, boosted by bargain hunting after recent sharp pullbacks due to concerns over oversupply and uncertain demand.

Meanwhile, energy participants closely monitored any significant market impact brought by Helene.

At noon ET, November Nymex West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 40cts to $68.05/bbl, and December WTI increased 30cts to $67.50/bbl. London-based ICE Brent crude for November delivery climbed 20cts to $71.80/bbl, and December Brent was 25cts higher at $71.35/bbl.

Despite Friday's small gain, both crude benchmarks are on track to fall about $3. On Thursday, crude oil prices tumbled $2 after a news report said Saudi Arabia is ready to forgo its official $100/bbl target for crude oil as the top OPEC exporter is willing to boost output to increase market share.

November Nymex RBOB futures, which have the highest trading volume, inched up 0.65ct to $1.941/gal, and front-month October RBOB increased 0.5ct to $1.9665/gal. The November ULSD contract was 1.05cts higher at $2.1635/gal, and October ULSD gained 1cts to $2.145/gal.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Helene is expected to bring historic and catastrophic flooding across a large swath of the Southern Appalachians.

NHC said in its 11 a.m. ET update that there is also a possibility of long-duration power outages in portions of the southeast U.S., which could significantly destroy fuel demand as Helene is expected to drench a dozen states including Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama and Mississippi.

A Colonial Pipeline spokeswoman told OPIS Friday morning that the company is restoring normal operations on the Atlanta stublines and the Belton-to-North Augusta line, while its main lines continue to operate as scheduled. Colonial Pipeline operates the largest product pipeline system that moves refined products from refineries in the U.S. Gulf Coast to the East Coast.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

--Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 27, 2024 12:54 ET (16:54 GMT)

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