Markets

Oilfield service and supply contractors continue to suffer the biggest job losses in the Canadian oil and gas activity slump driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to an industry monitoring agency. Cuts of 6,100 field positions accounted for 89% of 6,870 Canadian industry layoffs during May, based on records compiled by Petroleum Labor Market Information…

The U.S. onshore oil and gas industry is against the wall with the unconventional boom in its 15th year, now facing accelerated insolvencies and a wave of consolidation, according to new research. Second quarter earnings may bring a “surge of asset impairments” as U.S. operators that work in shale and other tight resources enter a…

The oilfield services (OFS) sector has been looking for a break, brought low for several quarters by reduced exploration and development spending and further upended by Covid-19, but it’s expected to be a long, hard slog before activity moves into high gear. Meanwhile, the jobs picture for the energy industry, and in particular the OFS…

Natural gas futures advanced Thursday after the latest storage report met expectations and forecasts continued to call for more June heat. However, demand concerns lingered as markets absorbed an economic outlook that pointed to protracted fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The July Nymex contract settled at $1.813/MMBtu, up 3.3 cents day/day. August rose 3.0 cents to $1.900.

Natural gas futures snapped a three-day losing streak, edging up Monday as weather models hinted at what could be a warmer-than-normal summer. However, with a looming storage “tsunami,” the June Nymex gas futures contract settled only three-tenths of a cent higher than Friday’s close at $1.826. July climbed .008 cents to $2.085.

Coming off a mild winter, weather models that showed chilly weather lingering a bit longer aided a rebound for natural gas futures to start the week. Reinforced by a sustained drop in production that first showed up at the end of last week, the June Nymex gas futures contract climbed 10.3 cents to settle Monday at $1.993. July rose 9.6 cents to $2.230.

An initial bump in natural gas futures prices failed to gain momentum Wednesday, with demand destruction weighing more heavily on the front of the curve than any declines in production. The June Nymex gas futures contract, on the first day in the prompt-month position, fell 7.9 cents to $1.869. July also dropped 7.9 cents to hit $2.091.

Early selling in natural gas futures failed to hold, with erratic, non-fundamentally driven price fluctuations continuing midweek. After sinking to a $1.774 intraday low, the May Nymex gas futures contract settled Wednesday at $1.939, up 11.8 cents on the day. Increases continued throughout the curve, with June picking up 6.9 cents to hit $2.053.

Still struggling to get a grasp on how much demand is being lost amid the coronavirus pandemic, natural gas traders on Monday took their cue from unparalleled deterioration in the oil markets. After an initial sell-off early in the session, the May Nymex gas futures contract rallied, shattering resistance and settling the day at $1.924, up 17.1 cents from Friday’s close. June climbed 14.6 cents to $2.049.