A view of oil-well in action during sunset at Elk Hills Oil Field as gas prices on the rise in California, United States on April 14, 2024.
Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu | Getty Images
Crude oil futures edged higher Thursday as the market waited for the latest figures on U.S. economic growth.
U.S. gross domestic product is expected to have grown 2.4% in the first quarter, according to economists polled by Dow Jones. The Department of Commerce will publish official figures at 8:30 am ET.
Here are today’s energy prices:
- West Texas Intermediate June contract: $82.97 a barrel, up 19 cents or 0.22%. Year to date, U.S. oil has gained nearly 16%.
- Brent June contract: $88.22 a barrel, up 23 cents or 0.23%. Year to date, the global benchmark has added more than 14%.
- RBOB Gasoline: $2.75 a gallon, up 0.63%. Year to date, gasoline futures are up about 31%.
- Natural Gas May contract: $1.65 per one thousand cubic feet. Year to date, gas is down about 34%.
Oil prices closed lower Wednesday as Goldman Sachs saw a slightly bearish market with global inventories on the rise. U.S. crude is up 1% this week while Brent has fallen 0.2%.
Crude oil futures have shed $2.50 in geopolitical risk premium since last week as tensions between Israel and Iran have eased, according to analysts at Piper Sandler.
Oil prices are currently moving sideways but downside risk seems limited, Jan Stuart, Piper’s energy analyst, told clients in a research note.
WTI v. Brent
Piper has reduced the odds of a U.S. recession to a coin flip, Stuart said. Unemployment is low, sentiment is OK and the outlook is not bad, he said. This means growing demand for oil with refiners running closer to capacity and smaller capacity additions, Stuart said.