By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 25 -- Energy futures prices fell Friday as traders locked in gains from the previous day's run-up on the New York Mercantile Exchange, guarding against any adverse turnaround in market factors over the weekend.
The May contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes dropped 26¢ to $25.35/bbl Friday on NYMEX, while the June contract was down 18¢ to $25.49/bbl. Both positions continued to decline, to $25.14/bbl and $25.30/bbl, respectively, in after-hours electronic trading.
Unleaded gasoline for April delivery plunged 2.84¢ to 80.08¢/gal during the regular NYMEX session Friday. Heating oil for the same month fell 1.87¢ to 65.27¢/gal. The April natural gas contract also declined, 10.5¢ to $3.33/Mcf.
"The recent surge in crude oil prices appears to have stalled after US Vice-Pres. [Dick] Cheney's visit to the Middle East last week indicated that US military action against Iraq is not likely imminent," said Robert Morris of Salomon Smith Barney Inc. in his weekly exploration and production report Monday.
"However, oil prices are likely to retain much of their current 'war premium' until at least near the end of May, when 'push comes to shove' on renewal of the current phase of the oil-for-food program between the UN and Iraq," he said.
As for natural gas, Morris said, "We continue to believe that the near-term fundamentals do not support the recent run-up in natural gas prices and expect them to retreat over the coming months."
In London, futures prices for North Sea Brent oil ended the week little changed and steady above the $25/bb level on the International Petroleum Exchange. The May Brent contract dipped 6¢ to $25.36/bbl. The April natural gas contract dropped 3.1¢ to the equivalent of $2.14/Mcf on IPE.
The average price for OPEC's basket of seven benchmark crudes slipped 3¢ to $23.68/bbl Friday.
For the full week, however, that average basket price jumped 82¢ to $23.16/bbl. So far this year, OPEC's basket price has averaged $19.48/bbl, up from $18.38/bbl during the fourth quarter of last year. For 2001 as a whole, the basket price averaged $23.12/bbl.
