Crude jumps again as US signals prolonged naval blockade
The WTI prompt-month contract rose $3.86 to $103.79/Bbl on Tuesday morning (7:30 AM CT)
President Trump has directed aides to prepare for a longer-lasting naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to the Wall Street Journal
The blockade is intended to intensify pressure on Tehran, as the country nears storage capacity limits, raising the risk of forced production curtailments, per Kpler
Kpler estimates Iran has roughly 12 to 22 days of remaining storage capacity
The US is also escalating financial pressure, with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control warning banks and firms of potential sanctions exposure tied to Chinese refiners with Iranian links
Despite the ceasefire holding, both sides are shifting toward economic leverage, with Iran maintaining tight control over the Strait of Hormuz and moving to formalize a fee-based transit system for vessels
Natural gas June contract is down as contract rolls
Natural gas is down -5.1c to $2.64/MMBtu (As of 07:32 AM CDT)
The May Henry Hub contract settled yesterday at $2.559/MMBtu
The cooling into this weekend begins today, as 2 Bcf/d of rescom demand was added back (Criterion)
Weather forecasts came in warmer, erasing some of the cooling momentum in the back half of the forecast range over the last couple of days
Warming was primarily centered in the northeast and west regions
Appalachian gas output slides to 11-week low
Since December, Appalachian production has slumped 1.9 Bcf/d to 34.3 Bcf/d (S&P)
The production dip is in response to the lower shoulder prices
EQT acknowledged on their earnings call that they were actively curtailing volumes
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