The WTI prompt-month contract rose $0.73 to $90.76/Bbl Thursday morning (7:30 AM CT)
President Donald Trump said the US could launch additional strikes against Iran, posting that “at some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island”
The latest exchange of threats between Washington and Tehran risks undermining ongoing diplomatic efforts and raises questions about the durability of the apparent ceasefire
Despite the increasingly aggressive rhetoric, crude futures posted only modest gains as traders appear increasingly reluctant to assign a significant geopolitical risk premium to headlines or social media posts
According to OPEC data, Iran’s crude oil production fell 546 MBbl/d month-over-month to 2.33 MMBbl/d in May as the US blockade and ongoing disruptions continued to weigh on the country’s export operations
Gas is flat as power demand peaks in the forecast range
Natural gas is down -4.7c to $3.138/MMBtu (As of 07:30 AM CDT)
Power demand increased another 2.5 Bcf/d this morning to 45.8 Bcf/d as average temperatures peaked around 78°F (Criterion)
Average L48 temperatures are expected to fall to 72°F over the next week
Forecast changes from yesterday show major cooling throughout the forecast range in the Midwest, especially around population centers like Chicago (CWG)
The Midwest lost a total of 31.3°F over the next two weeks
L48 feedgas surges over 800 MMcf/d this morning up to 18.6 Bcf/d
Corpus and Freeport LNG lead the charge, both gaining over 400 MMcf/d (Criterion)
Two Elba Island LNG units resumed service after completing optimization work (S&P)
The overall optimization project is still underway, which will still add some incremental feedgas demand during planned outages
Germany’s fifth floating LNG storage and regasification unit is coming online in September (NGI)
The unit will regasify 750 MMcf/d of LNG
Europe’s gas storage is currently at 43% of capacity
Europe’s low storage levels incentivize bids on US LNG, providing a catalyst for LNG exports to remain at full capacity over the foreseeable future
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