Natural gas futures plunged substantially for the session and the week, finishing more than 20% lower, while oil futures rose on Friday to record a gain for the week.
Tyler Richey, co-editor at Sevens Report Research, told Market Watch that the Biden administration "added a 'SPR put' to the oil market this week when they announced purchasing petroleum to refill stockpiles when prices fell towards $70 a barrel."
"Right now, futures prices are also supported by very tight physical market conditions." However, Tyler said that prices for natural gas futures "cracked through" technical support from the summer in the range of $5.40.
During the previous week, "mild weather forecasts, weakening demand expectations, and fast expanding inventories have been important bearish effects." With prices up 0.5% for the week, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil for December delivery increased 54 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $85.05 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The lowest finish since March 2022 for.
November natural gas, down 23% for the week, was at $4.959 per million British thermal units after losing 40 cents, or about 7.5%.
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