Coquest

Your Daily Energy Report for December 16, 2025

Posted on 2025-12-16

Crude Oil

Crude Oil futures for January settled down -$.1.55 or -2.728% at $55.27. Oil prices fell on Tuesday, with the WTI benchmark hitting its lowest price since early 2021. This decline extended the year-to-date losses to roughly 22%, indicating the sector's most challenging annual performance since 2018. Market speculation about a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine suggested that restrictions on Russian oil flows might ease, mitigating concerns over potential supply disruptions. Simultaneously, an already elevated supply was exacerbated by OPEC+ increasing restored output and non-OPEC producers in the Americas boosting their own production. Furthermore, negative economic indicators from China, the world's second-largest economy, clouded the future demand outlook, though geopolitical tensions, such as potential US military action in Venezuela, provided a partial counterweight to the downward price pressure.

​​​​​Natural Gas

Natural Gas futures for January settled down -$.126 or -3.141% at $3.886. Natural gas prices dipped today, adding to the four-day losing streak. This aggressive sell-off was primarily ignited by revised weather models that drastically lowered the 11-15 day outlook, wiping out expected heating degree days and crushing bullish sentiment. The updated forecasts predict persistent warmer temperatures across the majority of the Lower 48 states, signaling a massive reduction in heating demand. The weak consumer demand is being met by stubbornly high domestic production, and international relief is muted as LNG flows to U.S. terminals have dropped alongside softening global LNG pricing. Consequently, even a solid weekly EIA storage draw failed to rally the market, as current inventories remain comfortably above their historical average.
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