| YOUR WEEKLY JOLT Most of us have a short work week as we celebrate the fourth of July holiday with a welcomed three-day weekend. Some firework displays have been canceled this year, but the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks show in NYC will go on, beginning tonight. Cheers to a sparkling 4th of July holiday weekend from our crew to yours. Now for this week’s Jolt. HEATING OIL Prompt-month heating oil futures decreased 6.20% for the week ending Friday, 6/26, as prices fell $0.0751 per gallon.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude futures for delivery in August closed at $38.49 per barrel on Friday, 6/26, down 0.59% for the day, and down 3.17% for the week.Why So Crude? Crude oil prices fell last week but gained on Monday, trading around $39 a barrel. Investors were bullish as they shrugged off fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections and its demand-killing potential. New cases in the U.S. fell for two straight days and eased concerns about fresh lockdowns in major consumption centers. The outlook for domestic production also appears to be stabilizing after Baker Hughes’ weekly rig count fell by just one, going from 189 to 188. Active oil rigs in the United States have fallen by almost 80% since the beginning of 2019, decreasing from 885 to the current record lows. Gains were tempered by an update from the Energy Information Administration last week showing that crude oil output in the U.S. rose by 500,000 barrels per day to 11 million bpd. GASOLINE & DIESEL U.S. regular gasoline prices increased by $0.031/gallon from the previous week to average $2.216/gallon.Gasoline prices are down $0.543/gallon from a year ago.U.S. on-highway diesel fuel prices increased by $0.022/gallon from the previous week to average $2.425/gallon.Diesel prices are down $0.645/gallon from a year ago.Increases Continue. Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by $.04 to $2.17, which is $.06 higher than a week ago, $.21 more than a month ago and $.50 less than a year ago. The increase in demand has helped to lift pump prices. If demand continues to trend higher, motorists will likely see pump prices continue to increase through early July. – AAA NATURAL GASPrompt-month natural gas futures decreased $0.174 for the week ending Friday, 6/26, to settle at $1.495/Dth.Overall supply increased by 0.5 Bcf from the previous week. Total demand increased by 6.4 Bcf.Natural gas exports in March 2020 were 496,866 million cubic feet, compared with 373,539 million cubic feet in March 2019. This is a 33.02% increase.Net injections into storage totaled 120 Bcf for the week ending 6/19, compared with the five-year average net injections of 73 Bcf and last year’s net injections of 103 Bcf during the same week.Working gas stocks totaled 3,012 Bcf, coming in 466 Bcf higher than the five-year average and 739 Bcf more than the year-ago level.Going To Depend On Weather. Natural gas inched lower on Friday in a mostly lackluster trade after failing to follow-through to the downside, following the previous session’s steep break. – FX Empire ELECTRICITY Average peak prices in NYC increased last week, rising $8.15 to $27.67 per MWh.Average peak prices in Central NY’s Zone C increased, rising $5.61 to $23.67 per MWh.Average peak prices in New Jersey’s PSE&G increased, rising $5.87 to $22.23 per MWh.Average peak prices in New Jersey’s ACE increased, rising $6.28 to $21.84 per MWh.Average peak prices in Pennsylvania’s PPL increased, rising $5.70 to $22.33 per MWh.Average peak prices in Maryland’s BGE increased, rising $2.82 to $25.04 per MWh.Calendar 2020 prices in NYC decreased $0.48 per MWh, and Zone C prices decreased $0.44 per MWh.Calendar 2020 prices in PSE&G decreased $0.59 per MWh, and ACE prices decreased $0.50 per MWh.Calendar 2020 prices in PPL decreased $0.51 per MWh.The Pandemic & Electricity Usage. A big data project is analyzing social distancing’s impact on U.S. electricity consumption during the pandemic. – IEEE Spectrum TECHNOLOGY |