Natural Gas and Oil Forecast: WTI Holds $81 as Hormuz Shipping Risks Intensify
Natural gas fundamentals also look more comfortable in the U.S. In the latest storage report, there was a 36 Bcf injection (with expectations for and a surplus above the 5-year mean of 198 Bcf) even though the demand for electricity was high due to the summer.
Global LNG supply is even tighter than before. Petronet in India lost at least 56 cargo supply due to Qatar’s force majeure. September supply is already unclear. Before, the Strait of Hormuz only carried a fifth of total LNG trade. This made Asian buyers go after U.S., Omani, Nigerian, and Angolan supplies.
The situation is extremely clear in the energy market for August 17. Disruptions to Hormuz reduce available global oil and LNG. On the other hand, there is expected to be less demand and U.S. gas storage is comfortable so there is little room for prices to increase.