Clipper Oil: Latest Fuel News - Oil Will Climb To USD90/Barrel By Year-End: Goldman Sachs

Latest Fuel News

September 2021

Oil Will Climb To USD90/Barrel By Year-End: Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its forecast for global crude oil prices to reach $90 per barrel by the end of this year, up from $80, due to supply disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico and signs of strengthening demand.

Brent crude, the international standard, climbed $1.39 at $79.48 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, traded higher by $1.33 at $75.31.

Both Brent and WTI were on track to close at their highest levels since October 2018.

Continue reading here (Source: Fox Business).

Oil Prices at a Nearly 3-Year High as Natural-Gas Futures Jump 11%

Prices for U.S. and global benchmark crude oil settled Monday at the highest in almost three years, and natural-gas futures rallied back to levels not seen since February 2014, buoyed by tight U.S. supplies and strengthening demand.

“Both oil and natural gas are expected to continue higher in the months ahead as fundamentals decidedly favor the bulls right now, while momentum and technicals both point to higher prices in the near to medium term,” said Tyler Richey, co-editor at Sevens Report Research.

U.S. crude inventories have fallen sharply in recent weeks due to the lingering impact of Hurricane Ida on energy operations in the Gulf Coast region, he told MarketWatch. For natural gas, weather is almost always the biggest influence and “with expectations for a very cold winter this year, utilities and physical traders are stockpiling natural gas at a historically elevated rate,” he said. Continue reading here (Source: MarketWatch).

Natural gas Prices In Europe Hit An All-Time High

Dutch TTF and UK NBP natural gas prices hit all-time settlement highs on Monday—up 11% as the front-month contract is set to soon expire and the European gas crisis worsens.

The front-month (October) contract TTFV1 was up by €6.635€ MWh on Monday afternoon, to €76.875, pushed higher in part by the contract rolling off this week.

Prices often spike as the contract comes to a close.

The UK’s NBP virtual trading hub for natural gas also hit a record-high price, with front-month contracts reaching an all-time high on Monday afternoon. Continue reading here (Source: OilPrice).

Revisiting The Blame For High Gas Prices

No article of mine has generated more views and more reader feedback than my piece in March of this year: Who Is To Blame For Rising Gasoline Prices? At present, there are nearly 900,000 views, and I continue to get reader feedback over this article on a weekly basis.

The feedback is invariably from men who are angry that Joe Biden is in the White House and it is along the lines of “I bet you feel stupid now” or “Even an idiot can see that Biden is the one who drove up gasoline prices.”

Let’s address the obvious fact first. Gasoline prices are indeed higher this year. In fact, the average retail gasoline price is now $1.02/gallon higher than it was a year ago. The price is higher than at any time since 2014. I think the magnitude of the change, more than anything, has convinced people that Biden must be responsible for this. Continue reading here (Source: Forbes).

Soaring Gas Prices Ripple Through Heavy Industry, Supply Chains

Global record high natural gas prices are pushing some energy-intensive companies to curtail production in a trend that is adding to disruptions to global supply chains in some sectors such as food and could result in higher costs being passed on to their customers.

Some companies, including steel producers, fertiliser manufacturers and glass makers, have had to suspend or reduce production in Europe and Asia as a result of spiking energy prices. That includes two of the world’s largest fertiliser makers, which said they would cut production in Europe. The UK on Tuesday said it agreed to provide state support to one of the companies to restart production of by-product carbon dioxide, which is used in food production, to avert a supply crunch. Continue reading here (Source: US News).

High Global Demand, Low Global Supply Contribute to Rising US Propane Spot Rates

Since mid-September 2020, wholesale propane prices at Mont Belvieu, Texas, the main U.S. hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) hub, increased to an average of $1.33 per gallon (gal) during the week ending September 24, 2021, the highest weekly average since February 2014. Wholesale propane prices have increased because of high international demand and low global propane supply. The United States exported an average of 1.3 million barrels per day (b/d) of propane in the first half of 2021, 100,000 b/d more than in the first half of 2020, despite relatively flat production and domestic consumption.

The U.S. propane market has tightened because of the increase in exports, and wholesale U.S. propane prices have risen in line with wholesale propane prices in overseas markets. U.S. exports of propane during the first half of 2021 accounted for 60% of total U.S. propane demand when we combine domestic consumption and exports, up from 58% in the first half of 2020. We forecast that net exports of HGLs from the United States will remain high through the end of the year and then gradually decline as OPEC+ crude oil production rises, resulting in increased global production of associated propane and other natural gas plant liquids. Continue reading here (Source: US Energy Information Administration).