Energy Prices Continue Choppy Trading Action
Energy prices continue their choppy trading action, starting Thursday’s action with modest gains, after another selloff Wednesday. The IEA’s monthly oil market report seems to be contributing to the optimism this morning, with a global demand forecast that’s less bad than previous estimates.
Yesterday’s DOE status report showed U.S. crude oil stocks declining for the first time in 16 weeks, as lower production and fewer imports were able to offset another drop in refinery runs, while export volumes of oil held relatively steady. Cushing, OK stocks dropped by more than one million barrels on the week, leaving inventories at the NYMEX delivery hub some seven million barrels below the record levels set in 2017, and suggesting the May contract plunge into negative territory last month was less about tankage, and more about amateur trading.
The DOE report also suggest the industry may have over-healed its gasoline containment issues from a month ago, and now left itself with diesel containment challenges. While several regional markets are now facing short term gasoline shortages due to demand picking back up more quickly than supply can keep up, diesel inventories have spiked from below their seasonal range five weeks ago, to above the top end of that range currently.
Right on cue, Colonial Pipeline filed for a temporary rule change with the FERC Wednesday, which would allow the pipeline operator to liquidate product that was shipped without a capable receipt destination at negative values if necessary, and charge the shipper back for any pipeline delays or shutdowns caused by “shipper misbehavior.” The filing cites merchant storage along its destinations filling to capacity and an uptick in product being shipped without a valid destination, forcing the company to auction off more abandoned product.
So why did gasoline prices drop seven cents on a day when inventories were reported to decline for a third week and U.S. demand ticked up by eleven percent? It’s hard to make a strong fundamental argument based on the headline data – although gasoline output was up more than demand on the week, and exports dropped sharply for a second week. With U.S. refiners becoming more dependent on exports in recent years to balance the fundamental equation, last week’s plunge to new five-year lows for gasoline exports could spell trouble longer term if it doesn’t reverse course soon. In addition to the export and production swings, there’s a technical argument for the heavy wave of selling once RBOB futures failed to break resistance and formed a short term rounding top on the chart. That technical weakness suggests that unless RBOB can get back above $.90 to end the week, there’s more selling likely in the back half of May.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
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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.