Petroleum futures were modestly lower at midday Thursday as buyers were unwilling to chase higher offers despite continued tensions in the Mideast and the U.S. government's decision to reimpose sanctions on Venezuelan oil.
Many market watchers believe there is a geopolitical premium of $4-$6/bbl in place for crude futures. Israel has yet to respond to last weekend's drone and missile attack by Iran and that has limited short-selling.
And there are plenty of traders who bought oil late last week only to see prices decline over the first three trading sessions this week.
The NYMEX May West Texas Intermediate contract was off by 3cts at midday to $82.66/bbl and the June contract was 13cts lower at $82.02/bbl.
The June Brent crude contract was down by 30cts to $86.99/bbl.
Gasoline and distillate futures were also weaker.
Market concerns about disappointing spring demand trends are rising and an OPIS' survey of actual volumes sold last week suggests a steeper decline than that estimated by the Energy Information Administration.
The NYMEX May RBOB contract was off by 1.21cts to $2.7166/gal and U.S. spot gasoline prices were largely following suit.
East of the Rockies cash markets were 0.5-1.25cts/gal lower, while spot values in San Francisco were off by 4cts/gal and Pacific Northwest prices were down by about 6cts/gal.
Retail gasoline prices have risen largely on sharp increases in the Northeast, but the price increases seen so far this year may ease if spot market prices continue to moderate.
The NYMEX May ULSD contract was 3.97cts lower at $2.535/gal and some market sources are suggesting current values could drop below the 200-day moving average.
Spot diesel prices were down by about 4cts/gal across the country.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Tom Kloza, tkloza@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-18-24 1243ET
