Energy Futures Taking A Post-Holiday Breather
After rallying to 8 month highs ahead of Thanksgiving, energy futures are taking a post-holiday breather, with small losses this morning on top of minor drops seen in the combined trading session from Thursday and Friday. This type of pullback was overdue after the 30%+ November rally, with several short term technical indicators moving into over-sold territory last week. It’s too soon to call an end to the rally however as the upward trend lines are still intact, and we’ll need to see products drop by another nickel before this move will start looking like a reversal instead of just a short term correction.
It’s the last trading day for November product futures, and since spot markets weren’t assessed Thursday or Friday, there’s bound to be a little confusion as to the actual price changes expected at the racks this evening. For markets like the Gulf & West coasts hat have already rolled to trading against January futures, it’s looking like 1.5 cent combined drops in futures (roughly 1/2 cent from last week, a penny from this morning) while those still trading vs December futures like the NYH and Group 3 spot markets are on pace for slightly larger declines.
OPEC & Friends are officially meeting today to discuss output plans, after informal weekend meetings struggled to figure out a way to factor in rapidly rising Libyan output that’s offsetting a large portion of the current agreement to limit production.
S&P Global (FKA Mcgraw Hill) the parent company of Platts, is reported to be in advanced talks to acquire IHS Markit, the parent company of OPIS. You may recall a decade ago when Platts tried to acquire OPIS directly, and was met with a flurry of objection from the energy industry before the deal was canceled. No doubt we’ll see a similar backlash now to the combination of 2 of the 3 major pricing platforms in US petroleum spot markets (not to mention numerous other competing services across industries held by these two giant companies) but given the enormous size of the deal ($44 billion), it seems like only federal trade commission rulings will be enough to stop the transaction.
The latest refining casualty: Neste announced it would shutter its Nanntali Finland refinery in the first quarter of 2021 in an effort to save costs and focus operations on other facilities.
A new facility on the chopping block? The Suncor refinery in Denver, already beleaguered by numerous operational upsets on top of the weak margin environment, is now facing the risk of shutdown as state regulators consider not renewing its operating permits due to environmental concerns.
A Rystad Energy report suggests that despite the rash of refinery shutdowns announced this year – 28 so far – capacity additions will still outpace closures globally forcing utilization rates to stay at relatively low levels. A move to replace older, smaller facilities with larger, more efficient plants is driving the net increase in capacity that’s expected to change several emerging market countries from importers to exporters of refined products.
Baker Hughes reported 10 more oil rigs were put to work last week, bringing the total US oil rig count to its highest level in 6 months. The Permian basin account for half of the weekly increase, while the Eagle Ford shale added 3 more rigs on the week.
The CFTC’s commitment of traders report is delayed until later today due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but the ICE report suggests large speculators are jumping back on the energy bandwagon as prices rally. Money Managers made large additions in net length held Brent and Gasoil contracts for a 2nd straight week. The increase in Brent net length was driven by new longs entering the market (betting on higher prices) whereas the move in gasoil was primarily driven by previous shorts getting out of the way.
Click here to download a PDF of today’s TACenergy Market Talk.
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Week 16 - US DOE Inventory Recap
Energy Markets Trading Quietly In The Red As Ethanol Prices Rally To Five-Month High
Energy markets are trading quietly in the red to start Wednesday’s session after a healthy bounce Tuesday afternoon suggested the Israel-Iran-linked liquidation had finally run its course.
There are reports of more Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy assets overnight, but the sources are sketchy so far, and the market doesn’t seem to be reacting as if this is legitimate news.
Ethanol prices have rallied to a 5-month high this week as corn and other grain prices have rallied after the latest crop progress update highlighted risks to farmers this year, lower grain export expectations from Ukraine, and the approval of E15 blends this summer despite the fact it pollutes more. The rally in grain and renewables prices has also helped RIN values find a bid after it looked like they were about to test their 4-year lows last week.
The API reported small changes in refined product inventories last week, with gasoline stocks down about 600,000, while distillates were up 724,000. Crude oil inventories increased by 3.2 million barrels according to the industry-group estimates. The DOE’s weekly report is due out at its normal time this morning.
Total reported another upset at its Port Arthur refinery that’s been a frequent flier on the TCEQ alerts since the January deep freeze knocked it offline and damaged multiple operating units. This latest upset seems minor as the un-named unit impacted was returned to normal operations in under an hour. Gulf Coast basis markets have shrugged off most reports of refinery upsets this year as the region remains well supplied, and it’s unlikely we’ll see any impact from this news.
California conversely reacted in a big way to reports of an upset at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery outside of LA, with CARBOB basis values jumping by more than a dime. Energy News Today continued to show its value by reporting the upset before the flaring notice was even reported to area regulators, proving once again it’s ahead of the curve on refinery-related events. Another industry news outlet meanwhile struggled just to remember where the country’s largest diesel seller is located.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk
The Struggle For Renewable Producers Continues As A Rapid Influx Of Supply And Crashing Credit Prices Make Biodiesel
The sigh of relief selloff continues in energy markets Tuesday morning, with gasoline prices now down more than 20 cents in 7 sessions, while diesel prices have dropped 26 cents in the past 12. Crude oil prices are within a few pennies of reaching a 1 month low as a lack of headlines from the world’s hot spots allows some reflection into the state of the world’s spare capacity for both oil and refined products.
Gasoline prices are trading near a 6-week low this morning, but still need to fall about another nickel in order to break the weekly trendline that pushed prices steadily higher since December. If that trend breaks, it will be safer to say that we saw the end of the spring gasoline rally on April 12th for the 2nd year in a row. Last year RBOB futures peaked on April 12 at $2.8943 and bottomed out on May 4th at $2.2500. The high (at this point) for this year was set on April 12th at $2.8516, and the low overnight was $2.6454.
It’s not just energy commodities that are seeing an unwind of the “flight to safety” trade: Gold prices had their biggest selloff in 2 years Monday and continue to point lower today. Just how much money poured into commodities in the weeks leading up to the direct confrontation between Israel and Iran is unclear, but we have seen in year’s past that these unwind-events can create a snowball effect as traders can be forced to sell to cover their margin calls.
Supply > Demand: The EIA this morning highlighted the record setting demand for natural gas in the US last year, which was not nearly enough to offset the glut of supply that forced prices to a record low in February. A shortage of natural gas in Europe was a key driver of the chaotic markets that smashed just about every record in 2022, and an excess of natural gas supply in Europe and the US this year is acting as a buffer, particularly on diesel prices.
The struggle for renewable producers continues as a rapid influx of supply and crashing credit prices make Biodiesel, RD and SAF unprofitable for many. In addition to the plant closures announced in the past 6 months, Vertex Energy reported Monday it’s operating its Renewable Diesel facility in Mobile AL at just 50% of capacity in Q1. The truly scary part for many is that the $1/gallon Blender's tax credit ends this year and is being replaced by the “Clean” Fuel production credit that forces producers to prove their emissions reductions in order to qualify for an increased subsidy. It’s impossible to say at this point how much the net reduction will be for domestic producers, but importers will get nothing, and at current CI values, many biodiesel producers may see their “blend credit” cut by more than half.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.