US weekly ethanol production rose, according to the US Energy Information Administration report on Thursday.
For the week ending May 15, US ethanol production averaged 1.11 million barrels per day, above last week's 1.08 million barrels per day and a year ago's 1.04 million barrels per day.
Russia signed an agreement with Kazakhstan on Thursday to build Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant, a $16.4 billion project that will be partly financed through a major Russian export loan, according to multiple media reports.Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the agreement for the Balkhash nuclear power plant will ensure the development of new related energy sectors.The construction of the two power units is expected to cost about $14.4 billion, with an additional $2 billion allocated for physical security systems and related social infrastructure.The project has already entered the implementation phase, with engineering surveys currently underway. Main construction work at the site is scheduled to begin in 2027."Construction typically takes up to 10 years, but as agreed with our partners, we expect the first unit to be operational by 2034," said Almassadam Satkaliyev, chairman of the Kazakh Atomic Energy Agency.Russia's state-owned Rosatom was reportedly selected to lead construction of the plant, beating bids from China National Nuclear Corporation, France's EDF and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power.The plant will be built near the village of Ulken on the shores of Lake Balkhash in southeastern Kazakhstan, a site approved after a 2024 referendum backed the construction of the country's first nuclear facility.
US natural gas futures were up on Thursday, ahead of the weekly gas storage report, with forecasts pointing towards a bullish build.Both the July front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract rose 2.04% to $3.158 per million British thermal units.The US Energy Information Administration is set to unveil its weekly natural gas storage report for the week ended May 22, later in the day on Thursday. Forecasts call for a net injection of 95 Bcf into storage, below the five-year average of 97 Bcf for this period and the prior year's 104 Bcf, according to data from Investing.com.This comes amid a rebound in LNG feedgas flows, which jumped 8% from the prior week, touching 18.2 Bcf on Tuesday, according to Trading Economics.On a bearish note, however, power burn demand is set to drop by 2.5 Bcf per day on Thursday, compared to Wednesday, as weather conditions continue to get milder, according to NRG Energy.According to Gary Cunningham of Tradition Energy, the July natural gas contract is expected to remain "range bound between resistance at $3.14 and support at $3.01 over the next several days," while the December 2026 and February 2027 contracts could touch $4 per MMBtu.
The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.04% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.1% lower in Thursday's premarket activity as new US attacks on Iran led to rising oil prices.US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.4% before the start of regular trading.US initial jobless claims rose to a level of 215,000 in the week ended May 23 from an upwardly revised 210,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for a level of 211,000 in survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.New orders for US durable goods rose by 7.9% in April following a smaller increase of 1.3% in March, well above the expectations for a 4.0% increase in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.The new-home sales data for April will be released at 10 am ET, followed by the weekly natural gas stocks at 10:30 am ET.The weekly petroleum stocks data posts at 12 pm ET.New York Federal Reserve President John Williams and St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem are slated to speak on Thursday.In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 2.2%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 2.1% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) retreated by 3.5%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) declined by 1.1%.Power Play:TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) retreated 0.5%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.4% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 0.7%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) declined by 0.9%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) lost 1%.Snowflake (SNOW) shares were up more than 38% in Thursday's premarket activity after the company lifted its full-year product revenue outlook and agreed to a $6 billion infrastructure spending deal with Amazon's (AMZN) Amazon Web Services.Winners and Losers:EnergyThe iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) gained 0.3%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was up by 1%.Borr Drilling (BORR) stock was up more than 5% before the opening bell after the company priced an upsized $2.04 billion senior secured notes offering and simultaneously expanded a tender offer for its outstanding 10.375% senior secured notes due 2030.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was up 0.3%, and the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) gained 0.1%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was 0.8% lower. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) lost 0.5%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 0.8% higher.Burlington Stores (BURL) shares were down more than 2% pre-bell even after the company posted higher fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) retreated 0.5%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was flat and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was inactive.American Superconductor (AMSC) stock was down more than 2% before the opening bell after the company provided lower-than-expected fiscal Q1 guidance.Health CareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) advanced 0.3%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was 1.1% higher, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.2% higher.Sanofi (SNY) stock was down more than 1% premarket. The company said it has been granted a US Food and Drug Administration priority review for a new drug application for venglustat for the treatment of type 3 Gaucher disease, a rare disorder.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) declined by 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.4%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 0.2% higher.Bank of Montreal (BMO) shares were up more than 1% pre-bell after the company reported higher fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue.CommoditiesFront-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced by 2.9% to $91.23 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was up 0.5% at $3.11 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) rose by 1.5%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.2% lower.Gold futures for July retreated by 1.5% to $4,414.10 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures declined by 2.5% to $73.04 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was down by 1.1%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) fell by 1.7%.