Natural Gas and Oil prices trending up in July 2009

• Natural gas spot prices rose this report week, as prices for energy products generally increased and the economic outlook improved. During the report week, the Henry Hub spot price increased by $0.12 per million Btu (MMBtu) to $3.49.
• At the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), futures prices increased significantly. The price of the futures contract for August delivery closed yesterday, July 22, at $3.793 per MMBtu, more than 50 cents higher than the closing price the previous Wednesday.
• Working gas in underground storage as of Friday, July 17, is estimated to have been 2,952 billion cubic feet (Bcf), which is 18.4 percent above the 5-year (2004-2008) average. During the week ending last Friday, implied net injections of natural gas into underground storage totaled 66 Bcf.
• The price of the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil contract increased by more than 5 percent during the report week. Price increases occurred during 4 of the 5 trading days of the report week, resulting in a cumulative increase of $3.09 per barrel since Wednesday, June 15. The WTI average price yesterday was $64.58 per barrel, or $11.13 per MMBtu.