The global energy market stayed volatile on Tuesday as crude oil prices held near multi month highs while fuel and gas markets continued to show sharp yearly gains. Traders kept a close watch on supply concerns, rising demand expectations, and tightening inventories across major economies.
Crude Oil traded at $100.89 per barrel. The commodity slipped 0.12% during the day but still posted a massive 75.75% gain on a year to date basis. On a yearly basis, crude oil is now up 65.03%. Brent crude also remained elevated at $104.84 per barrel despite falling 0.74% during the session. Brent prices are now up 72.39% this year and 62.56% compared to the same period last year.
Crude Oil and Brent prices remain near highs
Energy traders continued tracking the strong rally in oil markets even as daily movements remained mixed. Weekly gains stayed firm with crude oil rising 6.44% and Brent adding 4.84% over the last 7 days. Monthly gains also remained strong at above 10% for both benchmarks.
Urals Oil saw one of the sharpest yearly gains in the market. The Russian oil benchmark traded at $97.51 per barrel. Prices dropped 4.47% during the day and are down nearly 17% for the month. Despite the short term weakness, Urals Oil is still up 93.32% this year and nearly 65% year over year.
Naphtha prices also stayed elevated at $879.33 per tonne even after a 2.17% daily drop. The commodity has jumped 80.05% year to date while Heating Oil prices surged 83.79% during the same period.
Gasoline climbs 108.33% while natural gas struggles
Gasoline prices remained one of the biggest gainers in the energy sector. The fuel traded at $3.56 per gallon after slipping 1.51% during the day. Even with the decline, gasoline prices have skyrocketed 108.33% this year and are up 66.78% compared to last year.
Natural gas prices showed a different trend. US natural gas traded at $2.88 per MMBtu with a small 0.68% daily gain. Weekly and monthly performance remained positive, but prices are still down 21.61% this year and 14.06% on a yearly basis.
European gas markets stayed stronger. TTF Gas traded at EUR 47.63 per MWh after rising 1.52% during the session. The benchmark is now up 69.08% year to date. UK Gas prices also climbed 57.96% this year as tighter supplies and weather related demand kept markets under pressure.
Coal, LNG and uranium markets show mixed momentum
Coal prices traded at $131.15 per tonne and remained 22% higher this year despite recent weekly weakness. Coking Coal rose 1.13% during the session and is now up 26.14% year over year.
LNG JKM prices stood at $17.02 per MMBtu. While prices are down more than 12% for the month, the benchmark still holds a yearly gain of 77.20%. German Gas also stayed firm with prices up nearly 60% this year.
Uranium prices traded at $86.05 per pound with a small daily decline of 0.29%. The nuclear fuel market has gained 20.18% over the last year as countries continue expanding nuclear energy investments.
Ethanol and Methanol prices also stayed in focus. Ethanol gained 25.04% this year while Methanol prices in China climbed nearly 40% on a year to date basis.