U.S. natural gas futures dropped over 4% on Monday as output slowly rises and cooling demand eases, keeping the amount of gas expected to go into storage on track for a record high this year. Meteorologists projected temperatures will remain warmer than normal through at least mid-August but predicted the hottest days of summer were past. Front-month gas futures fell 8.3 cents, or 4.6%, to $1.725 per million British thermal units at 11:27 a.m. EDT (1527 GMT). Speculators, meanwhile, [Read more]

Oil prices edged down on Monday as rising coronavirus cases and tensions between the United States and China pushed investors toward safe-haven assets. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $40.82 a barrel, down 41 cents. Brent crude dipped 48 cents, or 1.11%, to $42.82 a barrel. The fall in oil mirrored moves in broader financial markets in Asia amid concerns about escalating tensions between the world's two biggest economies following the closure of embassies in Houston [Read more]

U.S. natural gas futures edged up to a two-week high on Friday on rising pipeline exports and forecasts calling for hotter weather and higher-than-expected air conditioning demand over the next two weeks. Front-month gas futures rose 2.3 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $1.808 per million British thermal units, their highest since July 8. For the week, the contract gained about 5% after falling almost 5% last week. As the U.S. Atlantic hurricane season ramps up, Tropical Storm Hanna formed in [Read more]

U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs to a record low for a 12th straight week, although they added an oil rig for the first time since March as a recovery in crude prices tempt some producers back to the well pad. The U.S. oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by two to an all-time low of 251 in the week to July 24, according to data on Friday from energy services firm Baker Hughes Co going back to 1940. That was 695 rigs, or 73%, below this [Read more]

Oil prices edged higher on Friday, supported by a weaker dollar, though tensions between the United States and China weighed. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 2 cents at $41.03. Brent crude was up 1 cent at $43.18 a barrel. “Both crude benchmarks are roughly back where they were before this week’s upside breakout. Looking ahead, the oil market will likely settle back into a wait-and-see mode amid the increasingly uncertain environment,” PVM analysts said in a [Read more]

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as industry data showed a bigger-than-expected inventory build in the United States, where climbing coronavirus cases may further dent fuel demand in the world's biggest oil consumer. In his first press briefing in months on the pandemic, U.S. President Donald Trump said the outbreak would probably get worse before it gets better, one of his first recent acknowledgements of the spread of the problem. Industry group American Petroleum Institute (API) reported [Read more]