据Rigzone3月18日报道，西德克萨斯中质原油(WTI)和布伦特原油基准周一显示出上涨势头，收盘时距离60美元的心理关口不到1美元。

周一WTI4月份交割价上涨57美分，收于每桶59.09美元。WTI本周在59.23美元触顶，在58.05美元触底。

布伦特原油5月份合约价格当天收盘也有所上涨。基准价格上涨38美分，收于每桶67.57美元。

正如彭博社周一早些时候报道的那样，对冲基金预计欧佩克将继续恢复石油市场基本面，这提振了原油价格。对冲基金的理由是，如果欧佩克继续控制石油产量，原油价格应该会继续上涨。根据沙特阿拉伯能源部长星期一在阿塞拜疆举行的欧佩克-非欧佩克小组会议上对成员国所说的话，这种看涨情绪可能是合理的。

重新调制的汽油(RBOB)期货周一也小幅上涨。4月份RBOB收于每加仑1.88美元，涨幅为2.5%。

同样在本周第一个交易日上涨的还有4月Henry Hub天然气期货。天然气基准价格上涨5.5美分，收于2.85美元。

Great American Group驻休斯顿董事总经理Tom McNulty对Rigzone表示:“原油占据了大部分头条，但天然气也是一个引人注目的故事。”

McNulty指出，尽管纽交所Henry Hub期货周一上涨逾2%，但当前库存数据较低，且气温一度较低，可能会将价格推高。

McNulty解释说:“我们过去看到的这种波动已经被美国的巨大产量所缓和。根据EIA的数据，美国天然气产量去年每天增加100亿立方英尺，创下历史新高。美国天然气出口去年也创下新高。”

孔丽炜 摘译自Rigzone

原文如下：

Oil Price Getting Closer to Key Threshold

The front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil benchmarks showed upward momentum Monday, with the former ending the day less than $1 away from the psychologically significant $60-mark.

The WTI for April delivery gained 57 cents Monday, settling at $59.09 per barrel. It peaked at $59.23 and bottomed out at $58.05 during the early week session.

The Brent contract price for May also finished the day higher. The benchmark added 38 cents to settle at $67.57 per barrel.

As Bloomberg reported earlier Monday, crude oil received a boost from hedge funds’ expectation that OPEC will continue to restore oil market fundamentals. Should OPEC remain on its track to curb oil production, the crude rally should continue, reason hedge funds. Based on what Saudi Arabia’s energy minister told members of an OPEC-non-OPEC panel meeting in Azerbaijan Monday, the bullish sentiment may be justified.

Reformulated gasoline (RBOB) futures also edged upward Monday. The April RBOB settled at $1.88 per gallon, reflecting a 2.5-cent increase.

Also moving up on the first trading day of the week were April Henry Hub natural gas futures. The gas benchmark rose 5.5 cents to settle at $2.85.

“Crude oil gets most of the headlines, but natural gas is a compelling story as well,” Tom McNulty, Houston-based managing director with Great American Group, told Rigzone.

McNulty pointed out that, although NYMEX Henry Hub futures traded up by more than two percent Monday, the current low inventory data and colder temperatures once upon a time would have driven up the price far higher.

“The kind of volatility that we used to see has been moderated by immense U.S. production,” McNulty explained. “According to the Energy Information Administration, U.S. natural gas production grew by 10 billion cubic feet per day last year, setting an all-time record. And U.S. exports of natural gas also set record highs last year.”