In the long run, natural gas was driving up energy prices everywhere on Tuesday, as large areas of the US struggled with sub-zero temperatures and continuous outages hit several states.
March natural gas futures HOH21,
rose 5.5% to $ 3.073 per million British thermal units, while March RBH21 petrol,
rose 5.3% to $ 1.7813 a gallon. And diesel heating March RBH21,
rose nearly 3% to $ 1.8235 a gallon.
The rise in prices came as Southwest Power Pool, a utility group covering 14 states, ordered utilities to start shutting down to deal with an depleted reserve of reserve energy. This is while a winter storm passed from the Ohio Valley to the coast of the US Gulf, bringing frozen temperatures as far south as San Antonio, Texas.
Extreme winter weather has forced Texas offshore wind power generators and raised electricity prices. The Texas Council for Electrical Reliability estimated that two million people were without energy Monday night, The Wall Street Journal reported. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Texas, at the request of Governor Greg Abbott, paving the way for emergency aid to reach the state. The storm has so far killed two people in Texas.
The rare storm that hit Texas has also raised concerns about oil supply disruptions amid reports of shutdowns of refineries due to extreme cold.
The deep freeze also triggered a sharp gain in oil futures prices on Monday. Regular trading was closed due to the celebration of Presidents’ Day.
Prices for January CL.1,
rose 61 cents, or 1% to $ 60.08 a barrel, after surpassing $ 60 a barrel on Monday for the first time since January 2020. Brent BRN00 crude,
gained 27 cents to $ 63.47 a barrel, also hitting a January 2020 high.
Read: Oil closes Friday’s session higher on tensions in the Middle East, global prices rising by more than 5% for the week
“But with rising energy demand in Texas and declining daily supplies by up to one million barrels, temporary levels above $ 60 seem attractive to top sellers,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote. a note to customers. “A downside correction could easily start and bring prices below $ 55 a barrel, but should not affect the positive medium-term trend in oil prices.”