Welcome to Energy Markets Daily. Friday, February 6, 2026 — Bonus Episode: 2026 Year-to-Date Recap.
SIX WEEKS IN. 25 EPISODES. ONE THESIS CONFIRMED.
THE DECOUPLING THESIS: From day one of 2026, we called it. Bearish crude, bullish natural gas. Short crude rallies, accumulate gas on dips. Six weeks later, the data confirms everything.
CRUDE OIL JOURNEY:
- Week 1: WTI opened $57.41. Brent $60.85. Digesting 2025's 20% crash.
- Week 2: OPEC+ Jan 4 freeze delivered exactly as predicted. 1.65M bpd cuts locked.
- Week 3: WTI spiked to $62 on Iran tensions. We called it a sell. Collapsed to $59.22.
- Week 4: IEA confirmed 3.84M bpd surplus. WTI crashed to $59.33.
- Week 5: Geographic features week. Pre-recorded.
- Week 6: WTI CRASHED 5% Monday from $66.51 to $62.25. $63-64 resistance held. Gasoline inventories 257.9M — highest since June 2020.
EIA FORECAST: $52 average for 2026. Current price 17% premium.
NATURAL GAS JOURNEY:
- Week 1: $3.44, down 5% on warm weather.
- Week 4: EXPLODED 70% on brutal cold snap. Highest since 2022.
- Week 6: $3.34-$3.46. Storage draw 379 Bcf. LNG 18.3 bcfd near record.
EIA FORECAST: $3.50 avg 2026, $4.60 for 2027.
THE SCORECARD:
✅ OPEC+ freeze: CORRECT
✅ Crude surplus: CONFIRMED
✅ Gas buy on dips: EXECUTED (70% spike)
✅ $63-64 resistance: HELD
✅ Decoupling thesis: CONFIRMED
Trade the data. Not the headlines.
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