Crude oil tallies Q2 loss but natural gas scores best quarter in two-and-a-half years

Crude oil futures ended the week and month with gains as expectations for summer demand will continue to rise.

Oil prices fell to multi-month lows in early June when OPEC+ said it would start easing production cuts after September, then Crude oil prices rose due to expectations of tighter balances in the future and due to rising geopolitical risks.

“Despite the negative crude oil inventory results and the strong US dollar index, Upward demand outlook remains strong “On the charts for crude oil. The expectation of easing monetary policies, coupled with the expected increase in oil demand during the summer season, dominates this trend,” said Razan Hilal, analyst at Forex.com, for the Dow Jones Index.

Nymex crude (CL1:COM) for August delivery ended the week +1% And the month +5.9% At $81.54 per barrel, while August Brent crude (CO1:COM) ended the week +1.3% This month +5.8% At $86.41 per barrel; On Friday, WTI closed 0.2% lower and Brent closed flat.

On a quarterly basis, West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.9% and Brent fell 1.2%.

New York Natural Gas Contract (NG1:COM) for August delivery ended the week -8.3% But it was +0.5% On a monthly basis to $2,601/MMBtu.

But in the second quarter, natural gas prices rose 47.5%, the best quarterly gain since the first quarter of 2022.

ETFs: (USO), (BNO), (UCO), (SCO), (USL), (DBO), (DRIP), (GUSH), (NRGU), (USOI), (UNG), (BOIL) ), (COLD), (UNL), (FCG)

U.S. natural gas production is “ample” with large amounts of gas in storage, but there are also expectations of lower demand for natural gas. Atlantic hurricane season more activeBeth Sewell, President of Quantum Gas and Energy Services, said: Market monitoring this week.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin this year, with an 85% probability of an above-normal season and 17-25 named storms, including 8-13 that will likely become hurricanes.

Meanwhile, Sewell said, “Much of the United States is still experiencing above-average temperatures for this time of year, which is driving demand for cooling and power generation to support it.”

The energy sector represented by the SPDR Energy Sector Fund (New York, CA:XLE), had a strong week, +8.7%.

Top 10 Energy & Natural Resources Gains in the Past 5 Days: Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE) +49%Lightbridge (LTBR) +39.8%ENVX +28.8%Skeena Resources (SKE) +18.5%Nuclear energy (SMR) +16.6%,Environmental wave energy (WAVE) +16.3%Offshore Knot Partners (KNOP) +16.1%Adams Resources & Energy (UAE) +15.1%Leading Lithium Resources Corporation (FMST) +13.6%Scully Royalty (SRL) +13%.

Top 5 Decliners in Energy & Natural Resources in the Past 5 Days: Centuri Holdings (CTRI) -23.8%Permanent Resources (PPTA) -20.8%TPI Compounds (TPIC) -13.1%Ballard Power Company (BLDP) -12.8%Compass Metals Corporation (CMP) -11.5%.

Source: Barchart.com