Energy Companies Struggle Despite Small Increase in U.S. Crude Futures

Despite a slight uptick in U.S. crude futures, shares of energy companies slipped, putting an end to three consecutive days of declines. The overall market is still down over 2% for the week. On Thursday, there was some positive news as Citigroup suggested that OPEC might need to further cut production. However, this was counterbalanced by reports that the U.S. could potentially ease sanctions on Venezuelan oil and lingering concerns about energy demand.

Volatile Natural-Gas Prices See Moderate Increase

After a tumultuous trading session, natural-gas prices finished moderately higher. The U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed that natural-gas supplies in storage increased by 18 billion cubic feet for the week ending on August 18th. This figure fell below the average forecast of 29 billion cubic feet predicted by analysts surveyed by S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Woodside Energy Reaches Preliminary Deal with Workers

Woodside Energy has reached a preliminary agreement with disgruntled workers at its natural gas export facilities in Australia. This development comes as a welcome move to prevent a potential walkout that could have disrupted global gas supply and significantly impacted energy prices worldwide.