July futures price of the New York Mercantile Exchange West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell by 0.60 USD to close at 12 1.5 1 USD per barrel, with a decrease of 0.5%. On the ICE European Futures Exchange, the price of Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, fell by 5 1 cent in August to close at 123.07 USD per barrel, a decrease of 0.4%. On Wednesday, WTI and Brent crude oil both closed at their highest levels since March 8.
The New York Mercantile Exchange gasoline futures rose 1.3% in July to close at a record $4.2762 per gallon, while heating oil rose1%in July to close at $4.4037 per gallon. In July, natural gas rose by 3.46% to close at $8.963 per million British thermal units.
Analysts said that strong gasoline demand in the United States is still a factor driving oil futures. The U.S. us energy information administration announced on Wednesday that gasoline inventories fell by 800,000 barrels last week, and even though gasoline prices hit a record high, implied demand still rose sharply.
As the summer driving season in the United States approaches, analysts say that tight crude oil inventories may continue to support oil prices.
"No matter what kind of weakness in crude oil prices, it may be short-lived, because this will be one of the busiest driving seasons in history. EdwardMoya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a report: "Although the oil price is approaching $6 per gallon, pent-up holiday and travel demand will be released ahead of schedule, and crude oil demand will remain strong. "
Natural gas futures trading fluctuates greatly. Natural gas futures fell after a fire broke out in one of the largest LNG export facilities in the United States on Wednesday. According to DowJonesNewswires, the capacity of the Texas plant operated by Freeport LNG Company is 2 billion cubic feet/day, which is equivalent to about 2% of the US production.
Natural gas prices rebounded on Thursday, after us energy information administration said that the fuel stored last week increased by 97 billion cubic feet, in line with the expectations of analysts interviewed. This makes natural gas reserves 340 billion cubic feet lower than the five-year average.
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