U.S. oil and gas prices are moving in opposite directions, with oil prices recovering while natural gas prices keep declining in Thursday’s trading session. Earlier this week, both oil and gas prices experienced a sharp drop. Benchmark crude oil futures fell significantly on Monday, marking their largest one-day decline in over two years. This drop followed Israel’s limited attacks on Iran, which disappointed the markets. Tehran’s announcement that it would not retaliate further contributed to the market’s reaction.
As a result, oil prices have begun to recover, showing nearly a one-percent gain. Brent crude for December delivery was trading at $73.17 per barrel at 12:32 a.m. ET, rebounding from a two-month low of $70.97 reached on Tuesday. Similarly, WTI crude for December delivery increased by 0.85%, trading at $69.19 per barrel.
Commodity analysts at Standard Chartered noted that the oil market seems to be ignoring the vulnerability of Iran’s energy infrastructure to potential future attacks. Recently, the Guardian reported that Israel targeted air defense systems protecting essential oil and gas facilities, as well as military sites connected to Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
In contrast, natural gas futures have dropped below $2.80 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) as supply concerns have eased. Earlier in the week, prices fell by 11%, and they dropped an additional 4.15% during the latest trading session.
Meteorologists are predicting warmer-than-normal temperatures across the contiguous U.S. through at least November 9. This weather could allow utilities to inject more natural gas into storage than usual for this time of year. Additionally, the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) feed gas is expected to remain below record levels in the coming weeks due to maintenance at various facilities, including Cheniere Energy and Cameron LNG. Over the weekend, U.S. gas production from the lower 48 states averaged 102.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), which is close to the summer high of 103 Bcf/d and about 2 Bcf/d higher than autumn lows.
In its October short-term energy outlook (STEO), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that Henry Hub spot prices would average $3.06 per MMBtu in 2025. On a quarterly basis, the EIA estimates that the average Henry Hub spot price for Q4 2024 will be $2.81 per MMBtu, rising to $3.16 per MMBtu in Q1 2025. Prices are expected to dip in Q2 before climbing to $3.35 per MMBtu in Q4.
Related Topics:
- Today’s WTI Crude Oil Price Chart (November 1)
- Brent Crude Oil Price Today (October 31)
- Today’s Brent Crude Oil Price Chart (November 1)