Energy Sector Investing

Oil Prices Settle At $81.49

In trading on the NYMEX crude oil for April delivery lost 38 cents to settle at $81.49 per barrel.  The April crude oil contract rallied from a low of $80.16, hit earlier in the session.

Trading in London on the ICE futures exchange, Brent Sea crude oil was down 56 cents to settle at $79.91.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration issued its Short-Term Energy Outlook on Tuesday, forecasting an average oil price of $80 per barrel throughout the spring.  The EIA also predicts retail gasoline prices to average above $3 per gallon during the summer driving season.

Gasoline Prices Hit 2010 Highs

Retail gasoline prices hit their highest levels of 2010 on Monday.  The nationwide average retail gasoline price rose 6 cents Monday to $2.753 per gallon.  This matches the high set January 14 and is spurred by an increase in wholesale gasoline futures. 

Wholesale gasoline contracts for April gained 1.77 cents to $2.2887 per gallon in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settlement price of $2.271 per gallon on Friday marked the highest close for wholesale gasoline since Oct. 1, 2008.

Crude oil posted modest gains with benchmark crude for April delivery gaining 44 cents to $81.94 a barrel in trading on the NYMEX.

OPEC Crude Oil Production Hits 14 Month High

OPEC oil production hit a 14 month high in February with output from Saudi Arabia increasing by 80,000 barrels a day.  Crude oil output by Saudi Arabia, the largest OPEC producer, averaged 8.2 million barrels a day in February.

Nigeria's oil production output declined by 85,000 barrels per day (4.2%) to an average of 1.94 million barrels per day.  This is the largest decline posted by any OPEC member nation for the period.  Attacks on oil installations in Nigeria have increased as the militant group "The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta" ended it's cease fire in January.

Another African oil producing nation, Angola, increased oil production by 75,000 barrels to 1.945 million barrels per day during February.

OPEC members will meet March 17 in Vienna to review output quotas and demand forecasts.  In January OPEC reduced production quotas by 4.2 million barrels to 24.845 million barrels per day.