Divergence Seems To Be The Theme Of The Week For Energy Prices

Market TalkFriday, Oct 29 2021
Pivotal Week For Price Action

Divergence seems to be the theme of the week as energy prices are having a hard time finding direction as October trading winds down, and we’re seeing some markets struggling with excess supply, while others deal with shortages. 

We’re seeing this play out in futures where yesterday HO and WTI contracts staged a strong recovery rally, and managed small gains on the day after free falling in the morning, only to fall back into the red today. RBOB was the only contract unable to recover into positive territory Thursday, but then rallied 3 cents overnight, only to give up those gains in the past hour.  The low trades set in Thursday’s session offer a good short term support level that the bulls need to hold if they’re going to have a chance to regain the upward momentum lost early in the week. 

We’re also seeing divergence in basis values as West Coast markets have seen strong rallies this week after multiple weather-related refinery hiccups last weekend, while Midwestern values are dropping to multi-year lows. Ordinarily, this type of price spread between regions would mean fleets of tanker trucks long hauling fuel to take advantage of (and eventually help close) the arbitrage window, but given the driver shortages, those options are limited and may keep these spreads wider for longer. On the other hand, Chicago basis values may find some indirect support after a fire was reported at the Cenovus (FKA Husky) refinery in Lima OH that injured 4 workers.

While gasoline prices have dropped more than 10 cents after reaching a 7 year high to start the week, ethanol prices continue to set new records north of $3/gallon as logistical bottlenecks continue to plague suppliers. Even though ethanol prices have had a strong week, RINs have come under heavy selling pressure once again as the industry continues to wait impatiently for the long-overdue ruling on RFS volumes.

It’s the last trading for November product futures, and when the December RBOB contracts takes the prompt position Monday, it will start out some 7 cents below where October goes off the board.  We’ve already seen most cash markets adjust to this steep backwardation with big jumps in basis values when transitioning to the December futures reference, but this phenomenon will still cause confusion next week for those watching the prompt contract only and then wondering why their rack price didn’t drop.

Lots of earnings reports to sift through this week, and no surprise that with prices near 7 year highs, most producers are seeing their best earnings in several years.  One surprise announcement alongside an earnings release was that World Fuels is buying Flyers Energy group for $773 million.  

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Market Talk Update 10.29.21

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Pivotal Week For Price Action
Market TalkThursday, Mar 28 2024

Energy Markets Are Ticking Modestly Higher Heading Into The Easter Weekend With Crude Oil Prices Leading The Way Up About $1.25/Barrel Early Thursday Morning

Energy markets are ticking modestly higher heading into the Easter Weekend with crude oil prices leading the way up about $1.25/barrel early Thursday morning, while gasoline prices are up around 2.5 cents and ULSD futures are about a penny.

Today is the last trading day for April HO and RBOB futures, an unusually early expiration due to the month ending on a holiday weekend. None of the pricing agencies will be active tomorrow since the NYMEX and ICE contracts are completely shut, so most rack prices published tonight will carry through Monday.

Gasoline inventories broke from tradition and snapped a 7 week decline as Gulf Coast supplies increased, more than offsetting the declines in PADDs 1, 2 and 5. With gulf coast refiners returning from maintenance and cranking out summer grade gasoline, the race is now officially on to move their excess through the rest of the country before the terminal and retail deadlines in the next two months. While PADD 3 run rates recover, PADD 2 is expected to see rates decline in the coming weeks with 2 Chicago-area refineries scheduled for planned maintenance, just a couple of weeks after BP returned from 7 weeks of unplanned repairs.

Although terminal supplies appear to be ample around the Baltimore area, we have seen linespace values for shipping gasoline on Colonial tick higher in the wake of the tragic bridge collapse as some traders seem to be making a small bet that the lack of supplemental barge resupply may keep inventories tight until the barge traffic can move once again. The only notable threat to refined product supplies is from ethanol barge traffic which will need to be replaced by truck and rail options, but so far that doesn’t seem to be impacting availability at the rack. Colonial did announce that they would delay the closure of its underutilized Baltimore north line segment that was scheduled for April 1 to May 1 out of an “abundance of caution”.

Ethanol inventories reached a 1-year high last week as output continues to hold above the seasonal range as ethanol distillers seem to be betting that expanded use of E15 blends will be enough to offset sluggish gasoline demand. A Bloomberg article this morning also highlights why soybeans are beginning to displace corn in the subsidized food to fuel race.

Flint Hills reported a Tuesday fire at its Corpus Christi West facility Wednesday, although it’s unclear if that event will have a material impact on output after an FCC unit was “stabilized” during the fire. While that facility isn’t connected to Colonial, and thus doesn’t tend to have an impact on USGC spot pricing, it is a key supplier to the San Antonio, Austin and DFW markets, so any downtime may be felt at those racks.

Meanwhile, P66 reported ongoing flaring at its Borger TX refinery due to an unknown cause. That facility narrowly avoided the worst wildfires in state history a few weeks ago but is one of the frequent fliers on the TCEQ program with upsets fairly common in recent years.

Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk, including all charts from the Weekly DOE Report.

Pivotal Week For Price Action
Pivotal Week For Price Action
Market TalkWednesday, Mar 27 2024

Most Energy Contracts Are Ticking Lower For A 2nd Day After A Trickle Of Selling Picked Up Steam Tuesday

Most energy contracts are ticking lower for a 2nd day after a trickle of selling picked up steam Tuesday. ULSD futures are down a dime from Monday’s highs and RBOB futures are down 7 cents.

Diesel prices continue to look like the weak link in the energy chain, with futures coming within 1 point of their March lows overnight, setting up a test of the December lows around $2.48 if that resistance breaks down. Despite yesterday’s slide, RBOB futures still look bullish on the weekly charts, with a run towards the $3 mark still looking like a strong possibility in the next month or so.

The API reported crude stocks increased by more than 9 million barrels last week, while distillates were up 531,000 and gasoline stocks continued their seasonal decline falling by 4.4 million barrels. The DOE’s weekly report is due out at its normal time this morning.

RIN values have recovered to their highest levels in 2 months around $.59/RIN for D4 and D6 RINs, even though the recovery rally in corn and soybean prices that had helped lift prices off of the 4 year lows set in February has stalled out. Expectations for more biofuel production to be shut in due to weak economics with lower subsidy values seems to be encouraging the tick higher in recent weeks, although prices are still about $1/RIN lower than this time last year.

Reminder that Friday is one of only 3 annual holidays in which the Nymex is completely shut, so no prices will be published, but it’s not a federal holiday in the US so banks will be open.

Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.