Charts Continue To Suggest Diesel Is In A Precarious Position
It’s a mixed bag for energy markets to start Friday’s trading with diesel prices up 2 cents, gasoline down 2 cents and crude oil flat in the early going.
Diesel prices had their lowest settlement Thursday since prior to the war breaking out a year ago, an event that was the major factor in ULSD futures breaking just about every record on the books. The March ULSD contract also came within a penny of hitting its lowest outright value of the past 13 months before once again finding enough of a bid to avoid a technical collapse. Charts continue to suggest diesel is in a precarious position, with a major slide possible if the $2.66 range fails to hold support. If you’re a believer in the trading adage that “There’s no such thing as a triple bottom” on the charts, then a slide into the $2.50s should feel inevitable as we’ve seen lows near $2.66 three times in the past 3 weeks.
Crude oil inventories saw another large build, swelling by more than 7.6 million barrels, despite a surge in export activity that sent more than 32 million barrels of crude out of the country last week. The combined build in crude oil stocks reported over the past two weeks totals nearly 24 million barrels, even though those same reports show strong export growth and stagnant imports. Refinery runs and crude production can’t explain the big inventory gains since both were flat last week, leaving many to wonder how a government report could possibly have such confusing and misleading data.
Don’t worry, the EIA makes it perfectly clear by reporting a 2 million barrel/day adjustment to US Crude oil supplies in each of the past 2 weeks. 2 million barrels/day X 14 days = 28 million barrels of oil that the agency has in its compiled reports and is saying has no idea how it got there.
If you’re enjoying the confusing government data theme today, check out the PCE report that shows inflation continues to run hot and has stock markets pulling back yet again since it reinforces the idea that the FED won’t be letting up its tightening any time soon.
Los Angeles diesel basis values dropped 11 cents on Thursday, even though PADD 5 diesel inventories remain well below the 5-year seasonal range and multiple refinery issues continue to limit output in the region. Soft demand was likely the culprit in that large basis slide as 6” of rain and the first blizzard warning in parts of California in more than a decade are certainly not encouraging trucks to be on the road.
Total US Diesel inventories climbed back into their 5-year seasonal range for the first time in a year and moved above prior year levels for the first time since 2021. Diesel demand remains at very low levels for this time of the year, with minimal heating demand getting much of the blame for the worst start to a year for diesel consumption in a decade.
The US exported nearly 6 million barrels of refined products last week, but most of it wasn’t gasoline and diesel. In fact, the charts below show propane and propylene exports were on part with gasoline and diesel, demonstrating the growing importance of HGLs in the global energy mix.
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View AllGasoline Futures Are Leading The Energy Complex Higher This Morning With 1.5% Gains So Far In Pre-Market Trading
Gasoline futures are leading the energy complex higher this morning with 1.5% gains so far in pre-market trading. Heating oil futures are following close behind, exchanging hands 4.5 cents higher than Friday’s settlement (↑1.3%) while American and European crude oil futures trade modestly higher in sympathy.
The world’s largest oil cartel is scheduled to meet this Wednesday but is unlikely they will alter their supply cuts regimen. The months-long rally in oil prices, however, has some thinking Saudi Arabia might being to ease their incremental, voluntary supply cuts.
Tropical storm Rina has dissolved over the weekend, leaving the relatively tenured Philippe the sole point of focus in the Atlantic storm basin. While he is expected to strengthen into a hurricane by the end of this week, most projections keep Philippe out to sea, with a non-zero percent chance he makes landfall in Nova Scotia or Maine.
Unsurprisingly the CFTC reported a 6.8% increase in money manager net positions in WTI futures last week as speculative bettors piled on their bullish bets. While $100 oil is being shoutedfromeveryrooftop, we’ve yet to see that conviction on the charts: open interest on WTI futures is far below that of the last ~7 years.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
The Energy Bulls Are On The Run This Morning, Lead By Heating And Crude Oil Futures
The energy bulls are on the run this morning, lead by heating and crude oil futures. The November HO contract is trading ~7.5 cents per gallon (2.3%) higher while WTI is bumped $1.24 per barrel (1.3%) so far in pre-market trading. Their gasoline counterpart is rallying in sympathy with .3% gains to start the day.
The October contracts for both RBOB and HO expire today, and while trading action looks to be pretty tame so far, it isn’t a rare occurrence to see some big price swings on expiring contracts as traders look to close their positions. It should be noted that the only physical market pricing still pricing their product off of October futures, while the rest of the nation already switched to the November contract over the last week or so.
We’ve now got two named storms in the Atlantic, Philippe and Rina, but both aren’t expected to develop into major storms. While most models show both storms staying out to sea, the European model for weather forecasting shows there is a possibility that Philippe gets close enough to the Northeast to bring rain to the area, but not much else.
The term “$100 oil” is starting to pop up in headlines more and more mostly because WTI settled above the $90 level back on Tuesday, but partially because it’s a nice round number that’s easy to yell in debates or hear about from your father-in-law on the golf course. While the prospect of sustained high energy prices could be harmful to the economy, its important to note that the current short supply environment is voluntary. The spigot could be turned back on at any point, which could topple oil prices in short order.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
Gasoline And Crude Oil Futures Are All Trading Between .5% And .8% Lower To Start The Day
The energy complex is sagging this morning with the exception of the distillate benchmark as the prompt month trading higher by about a penny. Gasoline and crude oil futures are all trading between .5% and .8% lower to start the day, pulling back after WTI traded above $95 briefly in the overnight session.
There isn’t much in the way of news this morning with most still citing the expectation for tight global supply, inflation and interest rates, and production cuts by OPEC+.
As reported by the Department of Energy yesterday, refinery runs dropped in all PADDs, except for PADD 3, as we plug along into the fall turnaround season. Crude oil inventories drew down last week, despite lower runs and exports, and increased imports, likely due to the crude oil “adjustment” the EIA uses to reconcile any missing barrels from their calculated estimates.
Diesel remains tight in the US, particularly in PADD 5 (West Coast + Nevada, Arizona) but stockpiles are climbing back towards their 5-year seasonal range. It unsurprising to see a spike in ULSD imports to the region since both Los Angeles and San Francisco spot markets are trading at 50+ cent premiums to the NYMEX. We’ve yet to see such relief on the gasoline side of the barrel, and we likely won’t until the market switches to a higher RVP.