Archived Summaries
Wednesday 15th August 2012
Market Close
Yesterday saw a new year-to-date low demand level of just 155 MCM on the UK gas system and deliveries largely unchanged from earlier in the week, leaving the system 17 MCM long at the start of the day and still 7 MCM long by the close of business. The strong surplus on the system saw within day gas shedding almost 3.00p. Day ahead and weekend prices were down by 1.60 and 1.65p respectively while the week ahead and balance-of-month were both down by just over a penny. The front month shed 1.17p and seasonal contracts for winter 2012 and beyond were down by between 0.60p and 1.10p on the day. Crude oil prices remained steady in early trading on Wednesday despite the American Petroleum Institute weekly report suggesting that crude oil stocks in the U.S. had increased by over 2.8 million barrels. The market had been expecting a reduction in stock levels and indeed this was confirmed when the EIA released its weekly inventory data which showed a reduction of 3.7 million barrels - twice that anticipated by the market. The positive news for U.S. oil demand sent crude prices sharply higher in late trading and Brent crude gained $2.22 to settle at $116.25 per barrel.
