Disappointment Over Output Cuts And Weak Demand

Disappointment over output cuts, and weak demand have taken the steam out of the energy price rally this week, although the selling has been limited so far, leaving the upward trend intact for now.
Cheaters never prosper? OPEC’s early meeting idea fell through after Russia and Saudi Arabia drew a line in the sand on members of the cartel who aren’t meeting quota. Given the decades of cheating that some of these countries are known for, it seems unlikely the new deal gets done, which seems to have yanked the rug out from under the rally in oil prices.
While the OPEC bid may be gone for now, there are reports that U.S. producers have once again over-healed themselves and may be now be inadvertently setting the stage for a short term oil supply crunch later in the year. The DOE’s latest weekly report seems to add validity to that theory, as the report showed more than one million barrels/day of oil was unaccounted for in the U.S. last week – the fourth straight week of a record in that missing oil figure - suggesting that actual daily output is closer to 10 million barrels/day, rather than the 11.2 million barrel/day official estimate.
Diesel continues to find itself in the unusual position as the weak link in the chain, with days of supply surging to a record high north of 64 days, compared to a seasonal average of 38 days this time of year. Diesel stocks are now at the second highest level on record, and with refinery runs continuing to ramp up, while demand and export volumes stagnate, it seems likely we’ll see a new inventory record set next week. Gasoline stocks meanwhile are sitting at 34 days’ worth of supply vs. a seasonal average of 24, but unlike diesel, are trending lower since reaching a record high of 52 days when the world stopped in early April.
So far, the disappointing demand estimates have only led to relatively minor selloffs, and technical support continues to hold, suggesting traders are willing to overlook current weakness, as long as the future optimism about the economy reopening remains.
Not much change in the forecast path or intensity of Cristobal over the past 24 hours, although it now looks like it will be over the Gulf of Mexico for an additional day, which could allow it to strengthen more and perhaps reach hurricane status. The current path threads the needle and would avoid a direct hit on any refineries, although some offshore oil rigs are already removing non-essential workers as a precaution.
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Gasoline 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.