The Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX: WPL) share price finished Monday in the green after closing the session at $33.02 apiece, a 1.04% gain.

Woodside shares have spiked more than 5% in the past month of trade and have soared more than 50% this year to date as commodity markets rumble like the V8 engines they build and feed.

Key markets like oil and gas have ensured tidy gains for Woodside shareholders as well, given the company is a price taker where the share price is hypersensitive to fluctuations in commodity sectors.

What’s the outlook for April?

All the talk appears to be on the state of oil and LNG segments for Woodside this month, particularly as geopolitical tensions continue to plague global markets.

Brent Crude futures have pushed north over the weekend and Brent spot now trades at US$105 per barrel after gyrating heavily these past few weeks.

Meanwhile, US natural gas futures have extended gains. The commodity now trades around US$5.75 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) and is heading towards single-year highs of US$6.312/MMBtu in November.

Both UK Gas and Dutch Natural Gas contracts have followed a similar trend in the past few months. Their price movements, below, resemble a tracing of the alps instead of a price chart.

The volatility in all of these markets is sure to lock in big gains for players like Woodside, analysts say.

After a slump in financial performance during 2020, rising LNG prices and surging demand from Asia could be the welcome boost Woodside is searching for. That’s according to Henik Fung and Joyce Ho of Bloomberg Intelligence.

“Woodside Petroleum’s financial performance could get a boost from elevated LNG prices amid Asia’s rising gas demand and its reliance on Australia as a supplier,” the pair wrote in a recent note.

“Woodside’s merger with BHP’s petroleum business may further spur revenue and profit growth on volume gains once the deal is final before June 2022. Selling down its equity stake in Pluto Train 2 may yield sufficient liquidity to power other growth projects,” they added.

It appears that LNG markets are an important near-term catalyst that investors must consider, analysts are saying.

But this might not be on the cards for long, according to some commentary on the matter. Demand for LNG out of Asia has already started to slow in April, according to Megha Mandavia from The Wall Street Journal.

“As energy buyers in Europe reorganise to wean themselves off Russian gas in the wake of Vladmir Putin’s war on Ukraine – and natural gas prices skyrocket – Asian countries are facing some serious sticker shock,” Mandavia wrote.

“[LNG] demand in Asia has already taken a meaningful hit. In the long run, the consequences could be even more profound – slower Asian LNG demand growth through the remainder of the first half of the decade,” she added.

Reportedly, Asia Pacific LNG imports have tightened by 10% year on year from Q1 CY21 whereas Indian LNG imports have stalled by 25%.

Therefore, Woodside’s outlook in April appears to be hinged on what LNG and oil markets decide this month.

Meanwhile, the consensus price target on Woodside’s share price is $32.86 according to Bloomberg data, with around 67% of analysts advocating to buy the stock right now.

The post What’s on the cards for the Woodside share price in April? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Pilbara Minerals share price had an outstanding month in March.

The lithium miner’s shares soared 18% between market close on 28 February and the close of trade on 31 March. In today’s trading, the Pilbara share price leapt 5.54% to finish at $3.62.

Let’s take a look at what happened during the month.

What’s lifting the Pilbara share price?

Pilbara Minerals is a Western Australian based lithium and tantalum explorer working on its 100% owned Pilgangoora Lithium Tantalum Project.

The Pilbara share price headed north in early March amid optimistic broker coverage. The team at Macquarie rated the Pilbara share price a buy at the time.

Marcus Today senior investment analyst Henry Jennings also recommended Pilbara as a buy in March, as my Foolish colleague Sebastian reported. Jennings said:

After recent falls, the stock is now starting to look attractive and with brokers now upgrading lithium price forecasts, PLS is a buy at around 280c. Having a producer is a bedrock but it is also good to have an explorer with upside potential.

Growth and optimism

On 31 March, Pilbara reported a step forward in its lithium growth strategy. A scoping study provided preliminary support for constructing a demonstration-scale chemicals facility at Pilgangoora. This would produce value-added lithium phosphate salts via an “innovative” refining process. Pilbara shares soared more than 7% on 31 March alone.

As my Foolish colleague James noted, renewed optimism in the shift to electric vehicles may have also favourably impacted the Pilbara share price. Lithium is a critical component in electric vehicle batteries.

In February, Pilbara delivered a statutory profit after tax of $114 million in its FY22 half-year result. The company also reported a record sales revenue of $291.7 million.

Share price snapshot

The Pilbara share price has exploded nearly 234% in the past 12 months, while it has climbed 13% year to date. In the past week, the company’s shares have soared nearly 13%.

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) index has returned about 10% over the past year.

Pilbara has a market capitalisation of about $10.8 billion based on the current share price.

The post The Pilbara (ASX:PLS) share price soared 18% in March. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• ASX lithium shares set to deliver next positive surprise to investors
• Own Pilbara Minerals shares? Here’s why the CEO is so bullish on lithium prices
• The US is backing Aussie critical minerals projects, and these ASX mining shares could be set to reap the rewards
• Here’s why the Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price is spiking today

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The ASX boards have been dominated by resources shares that have shot up in value over the past month or two. If you stick to the green metals space, you don’t need to look too far to find some stellar short-term performers.

Investors seem to be extremely bullish on this market niche right now. Take Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS). It’s up close to 30% over the past month. Or AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ), which has given investors a return of more than 52%. But the Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX: AVL) share price is a standout performer.

Australian Vanadium shares gained an extraordinary 16.67% just today, closing at 10.5 cents a share. But it was less than a month ago that this company was trading at just 4 cents a share. That means the Australian Vanadium share price has rocketed 162.5% in under a month.

So what’s behind this eye-watering move? Well, it’s hard to say for sure. But some developments have likely pushed investors towards this small-cap vanadium share.

Australian Vanadium share price rockets higher

The first is a general appetite for companies involved in green metals, battery materials and technologies and renewable energy that we have been seeing from investors lately. Vanadium is a metal that has been identified as a potentially game-changing ingredient in a new generation of batteries known as redox flow batteries.

This technology is still emerging. But even so, many experts are excited about its potential future. Redox flow batteries use significant quantities of vanadium. So if this technology takes off, it’s not unreasonable to foresee a huge rise in the demand for the metal.

And Australian Vanadium is, of course, building out its capacity to produce this potentially green metal.

But another major development seems to have gotten investors hot under the collar for Australian Vanadium shares. Last month, the company announced that it has been awarded a $49 million grant under the federal government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI). Australian Vanadium will use the funds to develop its Australian Vanadium Project near Geraldton, Western Australia.

Australian Vanadium is a company with a market capitalisation of just under $300 million. Thus, a grant of $49 million is a significant injection.

In its recent joint announcement with Australia, which we covered last week, the United States government has also singled out vanadium as a critical mineral. This could imply that further government assistance is possible as the US builds out secure supply chains of critical minerals.

All in all, it doesn’t get much better than the month the Australian Vanadium share price has just had.

The post How has the Australian Vanadium (ASX:AVL) share price exploded 160% in a month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Australian Vanadium (ASX:AVL) share price is racing 23% higher

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Carnaby Resources Ltd (ASX: CNB) share price rocketed today following the release of exploration results.

The company’s shares surged 17.8% to finish the day at $1.45. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has climbed 0.27% today.

Let’s take a look at what this explorer announced earlier.

‘Exceptional drill’ results

Carnaby Resources reported “exceptional exploration results” at the Greater Duchess Copper Gold Project in Mount Isa, Queensland.

The company released exploration results at both the Nil Desperandum and Lady Fanny prospects. At Nil Desperandum, drill hole NLDD084 intersected 31 metres at 3.9% copper, and 1.0 grams per tonne of gold from 313m.

Meanwhile, at the Lady Fanny Prospect, the company reported exceptional drill results and visual intersections. Broad zones of copper gold mineralisation were intersected including:

• 22m at 2.4% copper, 0.5 grams per tonne gold in the drill hole LFRC019
• 19m at 2.4% copper, 0.9 grams per tonne gold in the drill hole LFRC010
• 43m of strong copper sulphide visuals in the drill hole LFRC120

Managing director Rob Watkins commented on the results:

We are in the early stages of unearthing the scale and significance of the Nil Desperandum and Lady Fanny discoveries.

The drill results and visuals coming in from the ongoing drilling continue to point towards a major new resource and development project at the Greater Duchess Copper Gold Project.

Share price recap

The Carnaby Resources share price has surged nearly 494% in the past 12 months, while it has gained nearly 8% this year to date.

In contrast, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned 10% in the past 12 months.

The post Carnaby Resources (ASX:CNB) share price shoots 17% higher. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Telix (ASX:TLX) share price surged 10% today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Game on: Why the PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price is zipping higher today
• The Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) share price just hit a 10-year high!
• Why is the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price slipping today?

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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