Petroleum futures were trading mixed near the unchanged mark in the overnight session on Friday with weakness in European equities and in US stock market index futures, as well as strength in the US dollar, likely weighing on the price action. Market participants awaited Canadian Labor Force Survey data, the US Producer Price Index, the preliminary University of Michigan US consumer sentiment index, and the weekly US rig counts from Baker Hughes for further direction.
Asian stock markets closed mixed overnight with the Hang Seng dropping 2.2%, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.5% and the Nikkei rallied 1.7%. Industrial production in India fell 1.6% year-on-year in January, while forecasts called for a 0.9% increase. The Consumer Price Index in India rose 5.03% y/y last month, above consensus at 4.83%.
In European news, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.7% in Germany last month, matching expectations. Eurozone industrial production rose by 0.8% in September, above expectations at 0.3%. In UK news, Monthly GDP for January fell by 2.9%, while forecasts called for a sharper drop of 4.9%. Industrial production fell 1.5% in January, missing the Econoday consensus at -0.3%. As of this writing, the FTSE was trading flat, the CAC 40 was down 0.1%, and the DAX had lost 0.7%. US stock market index futures were trading mixed but mostly lower this morning with Dow futures up 0.1%, while futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were down 0.4% and 1.4%, respectively. Also unsupportive for crude oil prices, the US dollar index was up 0.5%, after spending three sessions lower.
Petroleum futures rallied yesterday with a bullish monthly oil market report from OPEC, strength in equities, and weakness in the US dollar. Brent crude futures rose $1.73 to close at $69.63/bbl and WTI futures settled $1.58 stronger at $66.02/bbl. RBOB futures added 5.85 cents to settle at $2.1380/g and ULSD (HO) jumped 4.21 cents to close at $1.9594/g. New York Harbor ULSD and ULSHO barge price differentials to NYMEX weakened 80 points and 1.5 cents to -1.15c/g and -16.25c/g, respectively, according to Platts. The HSHO barge differential held steady at -20.00c/g. Spot propane prices rose along with crude yesterday, according to Platts, with Mt. Belvieu non-LST prices up 1.750 cents to 93.250c/g, LST prices adding 1.625 cents to 93.625c/g, and Conway spots strengthening 1.250 cents to average 84.000c/g.
Natural gas futures fell 2.4 cents, settling at $2.668/mmBtu amid a bearish weekly storage report from the EIA yesterday. The EIA reported a 52bcf withdrawal from underground storage for the week ended March 5, well below expectations at 73bcf. The latest 1-5 day outlook from the ECMWF calls for above-normal temperatures across the majority of the eastern half of the country, save for the New England area. The 6-10 day forecast sees mixed, but mostly above-normal temperatures in the Midwest, while near normal temperatures are expected in the Northeast.
