The latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0800 GMT - National Grid's reiterated 5-year earnings per share guidance means there could be some upgrades to consensus expectations, J.P. Morgan analysts Pavan Mahbubani and Mukund Verma write. The British energy-infrastructure company said it continues to expect a compounded annual growth rate of 6% to 8% in underlying earnings per share from a 2025 baseline of 73.3 pence. This baseline is higher than when the guidance was initially set, the analysts write. Shares trade up 1.6% at 1,032 pence. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0739 GMT - RWE's adjusted net profit beat expectations by 5% but overall it was a fairly vanilla earnings report, Morgan Stanley analysts write. Adjusted Ebitda was broadly in line with consensus expectations, and weaker earnings in its offshore-wind division were as expected given the unfavorable wind conditions, they add. RWE reiterated its full-year guidance, which was to be expected, the analysts say. Overall, the results aren't expected to deliver material upgrades to consensus earnings-per-share expectations, they add. Shares trade down 3.2% 31.18 euros. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0006 GMT - Oil falls in the early Asian session amid a surprise increase in U.S. crude inventories. The American Petroleum Institute reported a 4.29-million-barrel increase in crude stocks last week, contradicting market expectations of a 2.4-million-barrel decrease, Pepperstone's Quasar Elizundia says in an email. "This unexpected increase set a bearish tone that was later confirmed by the official EIA data," the research strategist adds. Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve rose by 3.5 million barrels in the week ended May 9, the EIA said. Front-month WTI crude oil futures are down 1.5% at $62.20/bbl; front-month Brent crude oil futures are 1.3% lower at $65.22/bbl. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

1946 GMT - Crude futures settle lower after four straight sessions of gains, with the market seeing a bearish tilt in the unexpected 3.5 million barrel U.S. crude inventory build and OPEC keeping its demand growth estimates unchanged for this year and next while returning barrels to the market at an accelerated pace. The U.S. crude build "wasn't as negative as widely perceived," Ritterbusch says, noting most of the increase was in the West Coast region and the 1.1 million barrel draw at Cushing, the Nymex delivery hub. While strong refinery activity would be bullish for crude demand, "we look for this element to be offset by ongoing increases in OPEC+ production that will likely be hiking crude imports while, at the same time, backing out some exports," the firm adds. WTI settles down 0.8% at $63.15 a barrel, and Brents falls 0.8% to $66.09. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1907 GMT - U.S. natural gas futures retreat as the market prepares for another large inventory build in tomorrow's EIA report to increase the surplus over the five-year average. "And it doesn't help that LNG exports are softer today at under 15 Bcf barring higher afternoon revisions," NatGasWeather.com says in a note. On the bullish side are high temperatures in Texas that will drive up electricity demand, although wind and solar generation have been strong the past few days, the forecaster adds. Analysts in a Wall Street Journal survey estimate a 111 Bcf increase in natural gas storage for last week, increasing the surplus to 58 Bcf from 30 Bcf the week before. Nymex natural gas settles down 4.3% to $3.492/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1834 GMT - Concerns about higher OPEC production has likely kept oil from joining the rally in growth-sensitive metals, while fears of collateral damage to demand from an "imaginary recession" are overdone, says Vincent Deluard, director of global macro strategy at StoneX. He shrugs off concerns about a Saudi-led price war with the decision by OPEC+ to step up its pace of production increases, noting the group's reiteration that the moves could be paused or reversed. "Iraq and Kazakhstan were overproducing, and they couldn't do much about it," he says. "If they wanted to maintain credibility, they had to change the target and that's probably what they did." A rise in summer demand, including travel in the Middle East for the Haj pilgrimage, is also likely behind OPEC's positive view of demand, Deluard adds. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1710 GMT - Crude futures are down moderately but off the day's lows as draws in U.S. product stocks provide some offset to the surprise 3.5 million-barrel build in crude inventories. The 1 million barrel drop in gasoline stocks reflects "the typical seasonal decline," while the bigger-than-expected 3.2 million barrel draw in distillates comes as production is at a seven-week low and demand at a five-week high, Arlan Suderman of StoneX notes in a report. WTI is off 0.4% at $63.43 a barrel, while Nymex gasoline rises 0.4% to $2.1749 a gallon and diesel jumps 2% to $2.21480 a gallon. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1327 GMT - Crude futures are lower after four straight sessions of gains in which tariff optimism played a role. Oil markets have underperformed equities, which appear to be putting trade worries behind them, in part as oil markets have the additional worry of OPEC+ supply increases, Callum Macpherson of Investec says in a note. "Any souring in market views on trade discussions could challenge the recent rally," he adds. Analysts note as bearish the API's report of a 4.3 million barrel build in U.S. crude stocks as the market awaits EIA data, and OPEC keeps its demand growth estimates for 2025 and 2026 at 1.3 million barrels a day and 1.28 million b/d, respectively. WTI is off 1% at $63.03 a barrel, and Brent is off 0.9% at $66.02 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

0858 GMT - E.ON reported strong first-quarter results, but these partly reflect a return to normal seasonal demand for the energy company, Deutsche Bank analysts James Brand and Olly Jeffery write. Adjusted EBITDA rose 18% and adjusted net income was up 22% compared with the same period a year prior. In the first quarter, E.ON delivered 33% of the midpoint of its full-year guidance range for adjusted EBITDA, and 43% of its adjusted net income guidance midpoint, the analysts write. Despite a substantial first-quarter contribution, E.ON only backed its full-year guidance. Shares trade up 1.9% at 14.975 euros. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 15, 2025 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)

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