U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for a fourth week in a row for the first time since July 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report on Friday.
The total oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by 3 to 746 in the week to March 10, the lowest since June. Despite this week’s rig decline, Baker Hughes said the total count was still up 83 rigs, or 13%, over this time last year.
U.S. oil rigsfell by 2 to 590 this week, also their lowest since June, while gas rigs also fell by 1 to 153.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for April delivery rose 96 cents to $76.68 a barrel Friday. Brent crude for May delivery rose $1.19 to $82.78 a barrel.
Wholesale gasoline for April delivery rose 4 cents to $2.65 a gallon. April heating oilrose 10 cents to $2.77 a gallon. April natural gas fell 11 cents to $2.43 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Dow ends down over 300 points Friday as stocks suffer worst week of 2023
U.S. stocks suffered their worst weekly rout of the year as another...
U.S. stocks suffered their worst weekly rout of the year as another hotter-than-expected jobs number and the first major American bank failure since 2008 sent the major indexes reeling in afternoon trade.Stocks finished lower on Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for the fourth straight session, its longest streak of daily losses since Dec. 19, according to FactSet data. The S&P 500 SPX fell by 56.73 points, or 1.5%, to finish Friday’s session at 3,861.59, according to preliminary closing data from FactSet. The large-cap index notched a weekly drop of 4.6%, its biggest such loss since September. The Dow DJIA dropped 345.22 points, or 1.1%, to 31,909.64, bringing its weekly loss to 4.4%. The Nasdaq Composite COMP fell 199.47 points, or 1.8%, to 11,138.89 on Friday, falling 4.7% for the week. Meanwhile, Treasury yields plunged as investors bought back into bonds. The yield on the 2-year note ended down 0.478 percentage points over the last two trading days to 4.586%, its biggest two-day drop since Sept. 14, 2001, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The energy sector is showing strength this Friday morning. ...
The energy sector is showing strength this Friday morning.
Following three-consecutive sessions of declines, WTI and Brent crude oil futures are trading higher, reversing early morning losses following the release of U.S. jobs data. Oil prices turned positive as fresh labor data calmed worries about the prospect of steep interest rate hikes in the United States hitting fuel demand. U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell previously warned of higher and potentially faster rate hikes, saying the Fed was wrong in initially thinking inflation was "transitory". Its next decision meeting is planned for March 21-22. The EU struck a deal to cut final energy consumption across the bloc by 11.7% by 2030, a goal lawmakers said would help fight climate change and curb Europe's use of Russian fossil fuels.
Natural gas futures are down in early trading, sliding to a two-week low on forecasts for less cold weather and lower heating demand over the next two weeks than previously expected.
