WTI crude futures rose about 2% to $70.1 per barrel on Thursday, driven by escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Reports indicated that Russia had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine for the first time, following Ukraine’s use of US- and UK-supplied long-range weapons earlier in the week. Traders are also anticipating the OPEC+ meeting scheduled for December 1st, amid speculation that the cartel may delay output increases. However, a rise in US crude inventories capped further price gains. Data from the EIA showed that US crude oil inventories increased by 0.5 million barrels last week, exceeding expectations of a 0.4 million-barrel build. Gasoline stocks also rose by 2.1 million barrels, outpacing forecasts of a 1.6 million-barrel increase.

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US natural gas prices soared by 7% to 4.3/MMBtu, extending yesterday’s 6% surge to the highest in one year, as forecasts of colder weather lifted the outlook on heating demand and expedited expectations on the start of storage withdrawing season. Data from the EIA showed that gas storage fell by 3 billion cubic feet on the week ending November 15th instead of expectations of a 5 billion cubic feet build, an expedited first drop of the season, as relatively low prices in the prior week drove producers to cut output. In turn, the most recent forecasts pointed to colder-than-usual temperatures on the West Coast and most of the nation besides the Gulf Coast. In turn, supply concerns in Europe ahead of the turn of the year drove LNG feed gas flows to rise to a 10-month high, limiting domestic supply.




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