Daily Energy Report

Crude Oil Futures for May 2020 settled up $0.65 @ $24.01/bbl trading in a $2.07 range including the overnight-RBOB settled up 3.19/cpg and Heating Oil settled up 6.42/cpg.
In the February 2020 update of its Short-Term Energy Outlook the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts that global liquid fuels demand wil l average 101.7 mil/bpd in 2020, +1.0 mil/bpd more than the 2019 average but 378,000/bpd less than was forecast in the January 2020 edition of the STEO. The change in the forecast is driven by a combination of lower than expected heating fuel consumption ca used by the Northern Hemisphere’s warmer than expected winter, an expected slowing of economic growth in general, and the particular economic effects of the 2019 novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Natural Gas Futures for April 2020 settled up $0.051 @ $1.653/mmbtu trading in a .093 cent range including the overnight session.
According to Energy Information Administration data, for February 2020, Henry Hub natural gas spot price averaged $1.910 /mmbtu. Warmer than normal temperatures in February reduced demand for space heating and put downward pressure on prices. The EIA forecasts that prices will begin to rise in the second quarter of 2020 as domestic natural gas production declines and natural gas use for power generation increases the demand. EIA expects pricesto average $2.220/mmbtu in the third quarter of 2020. The EIA expects that natural gas prices will then increase in 2021, reaching an annual average of $2.510/mmbtu.