Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices gained for a third consecutive week to hit a new high for the year so far as colder weather in the region drove demand. The average LNG price for January delivery into northeast Asia LNG-AS was at $15.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up 3.4% from the previous week, industry sources estimated. “Heating demand is set to be particularly strong in Japan, with forecasts for daily minimum temperatures in Tokyo suggesting a prolonged period of colder weather into the start of the ...

Russia’s government lifted a temporary ban on the bulk of gasoline exports supplied by producers, while extending the restrictions for other exporters, such as independent traders and re-sellers, until Jan. 31, 2025, it said on Saturday. The initial ban on gasoline exports was set to expire at the end of this year. The ban does not include supplies to the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union of some former Soviet states as well as countries, such as Mongolia, with which Russia has inter-governmental agreements on fuel supplies. “The decision was taken to ...

Northwest European diesel profit margins rose towards $18 a barrel on Friday following a drop in regional inventories as imports were set to decline. Scarce supply and improving demand have been offering support to distillates market, according to James Noel-Beswick of Sparta Commodities. ARA gasoil stocks, including diesel and heating oil, fell by 5% on the week to 2.26 million tons, according to consultancy Insights Global. Gasoil demand up the river Rhine remained high owing to high water levels that allow buyers to replenish stocks, said Lars van Wageningen of ...

U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 5% on Friday and posted amonthly gain, supported byforecasts for colder weather that should boost heating demand and force utilities to start pulling more gas from storage. Front-month gas futures NGc1 for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 16 cents higher, or 4.9%, at $3.363 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). The contract has gained over 24% so far this month. “Natural gas is snapping back as cold weather, unlike we have seen in recent years, is making a comeback. We ...

Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil producer, said on Friday it may delay modernizing its refineries due to high interest rates and taxes, as its nine-month profit fell 13.9% year on year to 926 billion roubles ($8.7 billion). Industry sources told Reuters this month that at least three Russian refineries, including Rosneft-owned Tuapse plant, had to halt processing or cut runs due to financial losses amid export curbs, rising crude prices and high borrowing costs. Rosneft’s head Igor Sechin, a longstanding ally of President Vladimir Putin, has long criticised the central bank ...

Northwest European gasoline refining profits rose by about $1 on Friday to $5.80 a barrel as a sharp fall in regional inventories supported. Shell sold a barge of Eurobob E10 traded in the Argus window to Trafigura. Another 16,000 metric tons of Eurobob E5 barges traded, as Gunvor sold to Shell, ExxonMobil and Mabanaft. Gasoline stocks independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub fell by 8.5% in the week to Nov. 28, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed. Gasoline stocks dropped to 1.14 million tons because ...

Gazprom, Russia’s largest gas producer, incurred a loss of 53 billion roubles ($492.5 million) in the third quarter of 2024 due to an expected one-off rise of 20% in the profit tax rate expected in 2025, the company said. The company madea profit of 56.4 billion roubles ($529 million) in the same period of 2023. Gazpromsaid that its nine-month net income rose to 990 billion roubles from 353 billion roubles in the same period of 2023 however thanks to an increase in gas prices and supplies as well as “successful” ...

Europe has set in a draft document a target for its gas stores to be 50% full by Feb. 1, 2025, the European Commission said on Friday, to ensure security of supply amid forecasts of a cold winter and concerns over Russian gas disruption. The target has been set to make sure the bloc’s gas stores do not run too low over the winter months and to maintain stable supply given the expected end of Russian gas supply to Europe via the Ukraine transit route. “Setting the February target to ...

Asia’s refining margin for gasoil posted a weekly drop of more than 10%, with an uptick in Indian supplies countering the limited outflows from Chinese exporters. The crack for 10ppm sulphur gasoil closed at premiums of $15.30 a barrel on Friday, retreating to more than two-week lows. “Lacklustre demand from Europe has led to barrels largely trapped within Asia and struggling to find homes outside of the region,” said Charles Ong, senior research specialist at LSEG, in a trade flows report this week. “Indian barrels shipped within Asia have risen ...

Dutch and British wholesale gas prices were largely steady on Friday morning amid muted market activity and some profit-taking, with supply and weather forecasts little changed. The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub TRNLTTFMc1 was down 0.37 euro at 45.91 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or $14.21/mmBtu, by 1004 GMT. The January contract TRNLTTFMc2 was down 0.42 euros at 46.33 euros/MWh. In Britain, the day-ahead contract TRGBNBPD1 eased by 0.85 pence to 114.50 pence/therm, with the January contract TRGBNBPMc2 seen down 1.79 p at 116.65 p/therm. “It’s a ...

Asia’s gasoline margins held relatively steady on Friday, as exports from China are expected to wane going forward following the reduction in the value-added tax rebate on gasoline exports effective Dec. 1, contributing to the bullish sentiment. The crack was at $7.47 per barrel over Brent crude, from $7.46 on Thursday. In naphtha, the margins continued their climb to settle at $85.78 per metric ton over Brent crude. NEWS Oil prices fell on Friday, heading for a weekly drop of more than 3%, as concerns over supply risks from the ...

U.S. natural gas futures climbed more than 3% on Friday and were on track for a monthly gain, driven by forecasts for colder weather that should boost heating demand and force utilities to start pulling more gas from storage. Front-month gas futures NGc1 for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange were up 10.8 cents, or 3.4%, to $3.31 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at 9:18 a.m. EST (1419 GMT). The contract has gained about 22% so far this month. “Natural gas is snapping back as cold weathers, ...

South Korea has decided to extend the consumption tax cut on LNG and coal used for electricity production by an additional six months through the end of June to help ease the financial troubles of power utilities, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Nov. 28. The ministry will also extend the import tariffs cut for LNG by an additional three months until the end of March next year, under which imports tariffs on LNG would remain at zero. The government has lowered consumption taxes on LNG and coal used ...

Energy – Lower inventory draw pushes natural gas lower Crude oil prices continue to trade soft, with ICE Brent trading at US$72.7/bbl as of writing and NYMEX WTI trading at around US$68.6/bbl. The Brent forward curve continues to tighten, with the Jan-Feb spread increasing to a 6-month high backwardation of US$0.55/bbl today compared to a recent low of US$0.18/bbl on 11 November. The market expects the crude oil market balance to ease further over the coming months as OPEC+ delays output hike plans. Weekly data from the Energy Information Administration ...

Dutch and British wholesale gas prices were little changed on Thursday but could see upside given forecasts of colder weather and lower wind speed, analysts said. The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub TRNLTTFMc1 was down 0.10 euro at 46.41 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or $14.60/mmbtu, by 0922 GMT. The Dutch-day ahead contract TRNLTTFD1 slipped 0.20 euros to 46.40 euros/MWh. In Britain, the day-ahead contract TRGBNBPD1 fell by 1.15 pence to 115.27 p/therm. A significant rise in gas demand for heating and for power generation on the ...