Energy Up As Jobs Growth Slowdown Seen As Temporary -- Energy Roundup

Shares of energy companies rose as traders bet a slowdown in jobs growth and travel related to the Omicron variant would prove temporary.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said it will distribute the remaining $5.5 billion of proceeds from the sale of its Permian Basin assets in the U.S. through share buybacks.

The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. rose by one to 481 in the latest week, according to a tally from oil-field services company Baker Hughes. Oil prices were also bolstered by ongoing unrest in Kazakhstan, a nation that accounts for roughly 2% of global oil production, according to brokerage Morgan Stanley.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev authorized troops to shoot on protesters without warning, in the latest escalation of civil unrest.

Natural gas futures rose as a winter storm swept across the Northeast of the U.S., boosting demand for the heating and utility feedstock fuel.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-07-22 1625ET