KOL

Coal ETF Vaneck

Oil

Why Natural Gas and Oil Won't Diverge for Long

Crude oil prices are once again breaking the $62-a-barrel level for WTI (West Texas Intermediate, the traded benchmark in New York), while Brent (the most-used global figure set daily in London) is north of $68.

Yet natural gas (according to Henry Hub, the U.S. standard), while drifting up slightly yesterday, has been moving in a very different direction.

As of close in trade Monday, WTI was up 2.3% for week and 8.9% for the month. Brent rose 2% for the week and 9.2% for the month.

Henry Hub, on the other hand, was up 3.6% for the month but down 3.7% for the week.

Both energy sources have faced prospects of excess supply, prompting once again concerns that extra volume will suppress prices.

However, as I have noted before, crude practitioners have learned to live with the excess extractable oil. Merely because it is in the ground does not mean it needs to be pumped right into the market.

And this will be key for us determining oil's moves this year...