An agreement for a tentative ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon resulted in a more than 3% fall in crude oil prices Thursday while little progress was reported in the diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran. Concerns were raised that the conflict could drag on and cause further disruptions in regional energy supplies.
The fall in prices brought an end to a three-day win streak and the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for Middle East Oil, remained shuttered.
Investing.com reported Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark expiring in August, were down nearly $3 or 3.2% to $94.74 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures expiring in July dropped 3.8% to $92.41 a barrel. The pullback followed gains of 6.3% and 9.9%, respectively, for the benchmark contracts over the last three sessions.
Prices declined even as Exxon SVP Neil Chapman warned at the Bernstein conference that global oil inventories are approaching ‘unheard of’ lows and models show Brent crude could spike to $150-$160 once the operational floor is reached. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said the market’s shock absorbers have been ‘steadily drawn down’ and expects direct upward pressure on physical prices in June and July, with Hormuz still blocking 12-13 million barrels per day.
Natural gas prices rose in Thursday’s trading, finishing at $3.342 MMBtu with a gain of $0.128 or 3.98%.
Thursday was a day of positive trading for Oklahoma energy stocks as nearly all recorded gains. The increases were moderate with two firms, Gulfport Energy Corp. and ONEOK in the 2% gain territory while most others were 1% or less.
