U.S. Natural Gas Prices Drop 6% as WTI Oil Craters by Nearly 9%
Charles Kennedy

U.S. natural gas prices fell by 6% on Friday morning amid the overall panic market selling, but the benchmark Henry Hub price was declining less than the WTI Crude prices, which sank by more than 8% to hit a low of $61 per barrel.

The benchmark price for U.S. natural gas delivered at Henry Hub was plunging by 6.26% to $3.877 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) as of 10:35 a.m. EDT. At the same time, the WTI Crude futures were tumbling by as much as 8.59% to $61.14.

This WTI price is now below the average $65 per barrel price U.S. producers need to profitably drill a new well, as they indicated in the Dallas Fed Energy Survey for the first quarter.

Both Brent Crude and WTI Crude prices were set on Friday for their lowest close in four years—since April 2021.

The tariff announcement from the U.S. on Wednesday afternoon rekindled concerns about the global economy and all markets tanked on Thursday. The main indexes on Wall Street crashed and registered the worst one-day drop since 2020. The S&P 500 index slipped into correction, falling by more than 10% from its February all-time high, as the prospect of a global trade war terrified many investors that a recession could be in the cards.

Oil prices were not spared, either. Oil continued to reel from the double whammy of recession fears fueled by the U.S. tariffs and the OPEC+ decision to add in May triple the expected oil supply volumes.

Oil prices tanked 7% on Thursday, and Brent Crude prices fell below $70 per barrel.

On Friday morning, the mega selloff continued and Brent slipped below $65 per barrel while WTI Crude could soon be testing the $60 a barrel threshold.

The trade war intensified on Friday as China retaliated with additional tariffs of 34% on U.S. goods.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

 

 

 

Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com

 

 

 

 

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