A large unexpected drawdown of U.S crude inventories sent crude oil prices up 2% in Wednesday’s trading. Adding to the impetus was a warning from the Saudi energy minister that raised the possibility of more OPEC+ production cuts.
West Texas Intermediate crude in the U.S gained 2% or $1.43 a barrel to close at $74.34 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Global benchmark Brent crude also rose 2% or $1.52 to settle at $78.36 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
Natural gas rose 8 cents or 3.32% to close at $2.40 per thousand cubic feet.
U.S. crude inventories posted a massive surprise weekly drawdown of 12.5 million barrels to 455.2 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said, as imports declined. Analysts had expected an 800,000-barrel rise.
The result was a mix of trading for Oklahoma energy stocks. Empire Petroleum dropped nearly 6% while Gulfport Energy saw a 3% gain.
APA Corp. (Apache) (APA) up 0.47 at 34.38 – change 1.38%
Cheniere (LNG) down 2.11 at 143.49 – change 1.45%
Chevron (CVX) up 0.42 at 157.27 – change 0.26%
ConocoPhillips (COP) down 0.41 at 103.98 – change 0.40%
Diamondback Energy (FANG) up 1.45 at 134.38 – change 1.09%
Energy Transfer LP (ET) up 0.04 at 12.80 – change 0.31%
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) down 0.27 at 25.79 – change 1.04%
EOG Resources (EOG) down 0.17 at 113.29 – change 0.15%
ExxonMobil (XOM) up 1.19 at 107.59 – change 1.11%
Kinder Morgan (KMI) down 0.04 at 16.50 – change 0.25%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) down 0.38 at 24.02 – change 1.60%
NOV Inc. (NOV) up 0.11 at 15.63 – change 0.70%
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) down 0.29 at 59.39 – change 0.49%
Phillips 66 (PSX) up 0.92 at 96.56 – change 0.96%
Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) down 1.69 at 212.33 – change 0.79%
Tellurian Inc. (TELL) down 0.08 at 1.35 – change 4.93%
Valero (VLO) up 2.29 at 114.79 – change 2.03%
CLOSING TOP UTILITY STOCKS
American Electric Power (AEP) down 0.83 at 85.17 – change 0.97%
CenterPoint (CNP) down 0.24 at 28.62 – change 0.84%
Entergy (ETR) down 1.32 at 98.97 – change 1.32%