September 9th 2019

YOUR WEEKLY JOLT

Now that NFL Season is officially underway, we can expect the tender back-to-school stories and social media first day photo deluge to be replaced by our shared passion for the pigskin. For almost a century, the National Football League has turned sleepy fall Sundays and Monday nights into heated battles for glory.

Whether you still cling fervently to the hope of a Jets turnaround, unwaveringly root for those big blue New York Giants, or just wish Brady would get sacked already, we bid you a season full of touchdowns and memories.

Now for this week’s penalty-free jolt.


Heating Oil

  • Prompt-month heating oil futures increased 3.43% for the week ending Friday 9/6, as prices rose $0.063 per gallon.
  • On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude futures for delivery in October closed at $56.52 per barrel on Friday 9/6, up 0.59% for the day and up 2.58% for the week.

Why so crude? Crude oil prices rose last week and continued to climb through Monday, trading near $58 a barrel. The market reacted positively to news that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman had replaced the country’s energy minister with his son, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who is seen as a proponent of OPEC’s supply cut agreement. The new energy minister said on Monday that Saudi policy would not change and that the OPEC deal would remain in place. Prices also received support from data showing an increase in China’s monthly oil imports, with shipments increasing 3% from July. The Baker Hughes oil rig count fell again last week, going from 742 to 738 and indicating decreased domestic production.


Natural Gas

  • Prompt-month natural gas futures increased $0.211 for the week ending Friday, 9/6, to settle at $2.496/Dth.
  • Overall supply increased by 0.5 Bcf from the previous week. Total demand decreased by 0.9 Bcf.
  • Natural gas exports in June 2019 were 359,526 million cubic feet, compared with 261,995 million cubic feet in June 2018. This is a 37.23% increase.
  • Net injections into storage totaled 84 Bcf, compared with the 5 year average net injections of 66 Bcf and last year’s net injections of 64 Bcf during the same week.
  • Working gas stocks total 2,941 Bcf, coming in 82 Bcf less than the five-year average and 383 Bcf more than last year at this time.

Short-Squeeze! Natural gas finished sharply higher last week, but contrary to some beliefs, this seems fueled by massive short-covering or a “short-squeeze” and not by the threat of Hurricane Dorian. Some say that while the hurricane was sitting off the coast of Florida, it was actually keeping a lid on prices because of its threat to demand, and when it became clear that the hurricane would move north, prices exploded to the upside as shorts scrambled to liquidate positions. – FX Empire


Electricity

  • Average peak prices in NYC decreased last week, falling $0.10 to $24.53 per MWh.
  • Average peak prices in New Jersey’s PSE&G increased, rising $3.04 to $21.81 per MWh.
  • Average peak prices in Central NY’s Zone C decreased, falling $1.53 to $19.70 per MWh.
  • Calendar 2020 prices in NYC increased $0.51 per MWh, and PSE&G prices increased $0.77 per MWh.
  • Calendar 2020 prices in Zone C increased $0.27 per MWh.

Stadium Power! The domed AT&T Stadium in Dallas covers 73 acres and seats 80,000 people in air conditioned comfort under the Texas sun. Combine this with the world’s largest hi-def TV screen (70 feet by 160 feet) and you get yourself an estimated peak power consumption of 750 megawatts. Yes, you read that right. Only Jerry Jones could foot that bill.


Technology

The Hub Max is not the first smart display with a camera built into it, but it is the first one to let you do more with the camera than just make video calls. The Hub Max can actually “see” who is in front of the display and present personalized things to them, such as upcoming calendar appointments, flight schedules, messages, and package deliveries. – The Verge