Wednesday’s trading saw another gain in crude oil prices, largely because of the growing tension in the Red Sea where ships are being attacked by Iran-aligned Houthi forces. As a result, more ships are being rerouted to a longer trip around South Africa.
There was also a surprise increase in U.S. crude inventory and larger than expected fuel stocks gains, along with record domestic oil production according to Reuters.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 28 cents or 0.4% to finish at $74.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Global benchmark Brent crude went up 47 cents or 0.6% and closed at $79.70 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
January natural gas fell 5 cents to $2.45 per 1,000 cubic feet.
All but a few of the Oklahoma energy stocks experienced declines in Wednesday’s trading, most ranging from 1% to 2%. Mach Natural Resources had the highest loss at 3%.
One big exception was Empire Petroleum which recorded a more than 7% gain for the day.
APA Corp. (Apache) (APA) down 0.49 at 35.52 – change 1.37%
Cheniere (LNG) down 2.30 at 171.08 – change 1.33%
Chevron (CVX) down 1.39 at 150.25 – change 0.92%
ConocoPhillips (COP) up 0.20 at 116.69 – change 0.17%
Diamondback Energy (FANG) down 1.32 at 157.83 – change 0.84%
Energy Transfer LP (ET) down 0.15 at 13.72 – change 1.09%
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) down 0.24 at 26.03 – change 0.92%
EOG Resources (EOG) down 1.11 at 121.43 – change 0.90%
Exxon Mobil (XOM) down 1.72 at 101.27 – change 1.68%
Kinder Morgan (KMI) down 0.15 at 17.50 – change 0.80%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) down 0.37 at 24.47 – change 1.49%
NOV Inc. (NOV) down 0.12 at 20.26 – change 0.59%
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) down 0.13 at 60.17 – change 0.22%
Phillips 66 (PSX) up 0.27 at 134.07 – change 0.20%
Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) down 4.46 at 227.02 – change 1.93%
Tellurian Inc. (TELL) down 0.02 at 0.73 – change 1.49%
Valero (VLO) down 1.06 at 132.54 – change 0.80%
CLOSING TOP UTILITY STOCKS
American Electric Power (AEP) down 1.81 at 80.31 – change 2.21%
CenterPoint (CNP) down 0.67 at 28.30 – change 2.32%
Entergy (ETR) down 1.92 at 99.63 – change 1.90%