The official rapid response account on X for the White House said Wednesday that an earlier report by Iranian state media of a US-Iran interim peace deal is a "complete fabrication."
"Nobody should believe what Iranian state media is putting out. FACTS MATTER," the White House said.
Energy stocks were declining premarket Wednesday, with the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) 1.6% lower.The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down 4.4% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.7% higher.Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 5.1% lower at $89.13 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil fell 4.2% to $95.41 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 1.2% at $2.93 per 1 million British Thermal Units.TotalEnergies (TTE) is facing a dispute with Mozambique over about $2 billion in costs tied to delays at its liquefied natural gas project in the country, Bloomberg reported, citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter. Shares of TotalEnergies were down more than 2% pre-bell.BP (BP) removed Chairman Albert Manifold, citing governance and oversight concerns, though Manifold rejected the company's account and said his dismissal came without explanation, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. BP stock was down more than 2% premarket.Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) said it has finalized all conditions tied to its previously announced agreement with Ecopetrol (EC) to acquire a 49% working interest in Colombia's Tisquirama block, expanding its footprint in the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin. Ecopetrol shares were nearly 2% lower pre-bell.
Natural gas traded higher early Wednesday even as long-term forecasts expect cool weather for big eastern markets.Gas for June delivery was last seen up $0.02 to US$2.92 per million British thermal units.The rise comes even as long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service expect Texas and eastern states to see cooler than seasonal temperatures over its six to 10 day outlook, cutting into electricity demand to power air conditioning.Still, high inventories of the fuel are weighing on prices, with the Energy Information Administration last week reporting gas stocks stood at 6.6% above the five-year average, keeping prices rangebound.