Crude Slips on Supply Data, Ukraine Unrest
NYMEX-traded crude futures closed slightly lower on Thursday as the market assessed U.S. data from a day earlier showing a smaller-than-expected build in domestic crude supplies and a surprise rise in distillate inventories in the week to February 21. Traders also factored in risks tied to renewed turmoil in Ukraine and weighed testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery ended down 19¢ at US$102.40 per barrel (/bbl). In European trading, Brent oil fell in tandem with most global equity markets as investors remained suspicious of Russia’s comments on Thursday that it will work with the West to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, while tensions in Crimea near the Russian border worsened. Prompt-month April Brent settled down 56¢ at $108.96/bbl, after slipping below the 100-day moving average of $108.77/bbl in intra-day trade for the first time in two weeks. The North Sea benchmark’s premium to WTI narrowed further, to $6.56/bbl from $6.93/bbl in the previous session.

Natural Gas Ends Lower on Inventory Report
U.S. natural gas futures eased Thursday, but traders shrugged off a smaller-than-expected drawdown in gas supplies – allowing the new front-month contract to find some support. The April contract sank to a one-month low but stabilized in relatively-calm trading after a volatile week that included marking the highest price in five years and the largest, three-day fall in eight years. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a storage draw of 95 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ending February 21 – lagging most analyst predictions for a 107-Bcf decline. It was the first draw below 200 Bcf in five weeks and signaled a break in the Arctic temperatures that have made this the coldest U.S. winter in three decades and boosted heating demand to all-time highs. NYMEX-traded natural gas finished down 3¢ at US$4.511 per million British thermal units (/mmBtu). The March contract, which had been the front month, hit a five-year high of $6.493/mmBtu on February 24 and then declined each day until it expired on Wednesday. It fell about 11% on Monday, 6% on Tuesday and 5% Wednesday.