After rising in the previous month, energy prices fell 9.1% in May from April, the largest fall since July 2022.
The downturn in May was broad-based, with only the spot prices of uranium and U.S. natural gas rising. The spot price of crude oil, the world’s most important energy commodity, fell nearly 10%. Money managers trading on the ICE and NYMEX exchanges sold nearly 139 million barrels of crude between 26 April and 30 May in the face of disappointing economic data for China, as well as uncertainty surrounding interest rates and the U.S. debt ceiling. Data showing robust Russian crude exports exacerbated investors’ bearishness. Meanwhile, coking and thermal coal prices fell to their lowest average levels since 2021. In contrast, the spot price for U.S. natural gas rose due to lower Canadian exports and a reduced U.S. gas-rig count, as did the spot price for uranium due to the G7’s plan to exclude Russia from the supply chain for nuclear energy.
This chart displays Brent Crude Oil (US$/bbl) from 2021 to 2023.
Energy Historical Price Data
| Q1 2021 | Q2 2021 | Q3 2021 | Q4 2021 | Q1 2022 | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 | Q4 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Thermal Coal | - | 106.7 | 165.7 | 183.5 | 266.7 | 364.9 | 417.5 | 379.8 |
| Australian Coking Coal | - | 135 | 256 | 370 | 484 | 454 | 249 | 278 |
| Uranium U3O8 | - | 30.7 | 35.7 | 45.6 | 49.1 | 53.6 | 49.5 | 50.1 |
| European Gasoil 0.2% Sulfur | - | 545 | 592 | 672 | 894 | 1,178 | 1,064 | 994 |
| European TTF Natural Gas | - | 8.69 | 16.86 | 31.42 | 31.46 | 31.99 | 60.51 | 36.90 |
| Brent Crude Oil | - | 69.2 | 73.3 | 79.7 | 98.0 | 112.1 | 97.7 | 88.6 |
| WTI Crude Oil | - | 66.1 | 70.6 | 77.3 | 94.9 | 108.9 | 93.2 | 82.7 |
| RBOB Gasoline | - | 2.22 | 2.32 | 2.46 | 3.08 | 3.91 | 3.44 | 2.78 |
| U.S. Henry Hub Natural Gas | - | 2.97 | 4.31 | 4.82 | 4.57 | 7.50 | 7.93 | 6.11 |