The uptick came on the back of a number of potential factors. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cut crude output by 460,000 barrels per day in December (according to a Reuters survey revealed on Thursday), which could have been a factor in pushing crude prices up.What potentially bolstered the crude price increase was China's announcement to  hold vice-ministerial trade talks with U.S. counterparts in Beijing on Jan. 7-8 – something that probably creates some hope, given that a large part of 2018 was laden with U.S.-China trade tensions.  

Natural gas prices surged to a more than four-year high in panicky and volatile trading Wednesday, after the latest cold weather forecasts raised fears that the U.S. is heading for a potentially colder-than-expected winter with too little gas supply. READ MORE...