The price of WTI crude oil has increased by 1.8% and is currently around $81.24 per barrel. Following an unexpected production decline by OPEC+, prices have increased by nearly 6 percent in the past 30 days. Meanwhile, Chinese inflation data indicates lackluster demand. Wednesday’s publication of the U.S. inflation data is anticipated by market participants. Recent U.S. economic data have bolstered expectations that the Fed will halt its interest rate increases and loosen monetary policy.
Today, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its short-term energy outlook, revealing that the average WTI oil price forecast for 2023 has increased from $77.10 per barrel to $79.24 per barrel. However, the EIA reduced its forecast for natural gas prices from $3.02 per MMBtu to $2.94 per MMBtu.
Despite this, the price of natural gas has increased by 0.4% to $2.18 at the time of writing. However, natural gas prices have corrected by approximately 45% year-to-date.
In addition, the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE:NYE) has gained 1.38 percent over the past five sessions. Investors should keep an eye on energy assets that may be affected by recent energy market developments.
Company Profile:
In seeking to track the performance of the index, the fund employs a replication strategy. It generally invests substantially all, but at least 95%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the index.
The index includes companies that have been identified as Energy companies by the GICS®, including securities of companies from the following industries: oil, gas and consumable fuels; and energy equipment and services. It is non-diversified.
