Gasoline Futures Have Gone Nowhere This Week
Gasoline futures have gone nowhere this week, currently trading just $.0001 below where they left off last Friday. In between, we saw an 8 cent drop Monday, only to rally 13 cents, followed by a nickel pullback that leaves us where we are today. Crude oil and diesel prices haven’t been as volatile as gasoline, but are following a similar choppy but aimless pattern.
Tropical depression Fred is struggling to regain strength, and is now forecast to barely regain tropical storm strength before moving up the west coast of Florida this weekend. That system now looks like more of a demand threat than a supply threat as it promises to bring heavy rains to wide portions of the south east, without threatening infrastructure. The system churning in Fred’s wake is now given 80% odds of developing, and looks to be headed on a similar path.
OPEC’s monthly oil market report showed the cartel’s output grew by more than 630mb/day last month, which for perspective is enough oil to supply the largest refinery in the US. Saudi Arabia continues to account for the majority of the increase, as it unwinds its voluntary production cuts, which were in excess of the joint agreement made last year. The report increased expectations for world economic growth in 2021 and 2022, but did not increase its oil demand estimates. OPEC’s report also highlighted the strength in US Gasoline cracks, and added that strong exports to Brazil due to widespread refinery outages in that country were a key contributor, along with the other items already highlighted by the EIA earlier in the week.
The IEA’s monthly oil market report noted that global fuel demand abruptly declined in July after strong increases in June as the world reacts to the latest COVID outbreaks. The report suggests that because of the latest fallout, it’s unlikely that OPEC will be able to unwind their production cuts on a linear path next year as supplies are suddenly looking like they’ll outpace demand once again.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
Latest Posts
Week 17 - US DOE Inventory Recap
The Energy Complex Is Trading Modestly Lower So Far This Morning With WTI Crude Oil Futures Leading The Way
Energy Futures Are Drifting Quietly Higher This Morning
Refined Products Holding Close To Break Even While Oil Prices Are Losing Just Under 1%
Social Media
News & Views
View All
Week 17 - US DOE Inventory Recap
The Energy Complex Is Trading Modestly Lower So Far This Morning With WTI Crude Oil Futures Leading The Way
The energy complex is trading modestly lower so far this morning with WTI crude oil futures leading the way, exchanging hands $1.50 per barrel lower (-1.9%) than Tuesday’s settlement price. Gasoline and diesel futures are following suit, dropping .0390 and .0280 per gallon, respectively.
A surprise crude oil build (one that doesn’t include any changes to the SPR) as reported by the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday is taking credit for the bearish trading seen this morning. The Institute estimated an increase in crude inventories of ~5 million barrels and drop in both refined product stocks of 1.5-2.2 million barrels for the week ending April 26. The Department of Energy’s official report is due out at it’s regular time (9:30 CDT) this morning.
The Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing at 9:00 AM EST this morning regarding a years-long probe into climate change messaging from big oil companies. Following a 3-year investigation, Senate and House Democrats released their final report yesterday alleging major oil companies have internally recognized the impacts of fossil fuels on the climate since as far back as the 1960s, while privately lobbying against climate legislation and publicly presenting a narrative that undermines a connection between the two. Whether this will have a tangible effect on policy or is just the latest announcement in an election-yeardeluge is yet to be seen.
Speaking of deluge, another drone attack was launched against Russian infrastructure earlier this morning, causing an explosion and subsequent fire at Rosneft’s Ryazan refinery. While likely a response to the five killed from Russian missile strikes in Odesa and Kharkiv, Kyiv has yet to officially claim responsibility for the attack that successfully struck state infrastructure just 130 miles from Moscow.
The crude oil bears are on a tear this past week, blowing past WTI’s 5 and 10 day moving averages on Monday and opening below it’s 50-day MA this morning. The $80 level is likely a key resistance level, below which the path is open for the American oil benchmark to drop to the $75 level in short order.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
Energy Futures Are Drifting Quietly Higher This Morning
Energy futures are drifting quietly higher this morning as a new round of hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas seem to show relative promise. It seems the market is focusing on the prospect of cooler heads prevailing, rather than the pervasive rocket/drone exchanges, the latest of which took place over Israel’s northern border.
A warmer-than-expected winter depressed diesel demand and, likewise, distillate refinery margins, which has dropped to its lowest level since the beginning of 2022. The ULSD forward curve has shifted into contango (carry) over the past month as traders seek to store their diesel inventories and hope for a pickup in demand, domestic or otherwise.
The DOE announced it had continued rebuilding it’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve this month, noting the addition of 2.3 million barrels of crude so far in April. Depending on what the private sector reported for last week, Wednesday’s DOE report may put current national crude oil inventories (include those of the SPR) above the year’s previous levels, something we haven’t seen since April of 2022, two months after Ukraine war began.
The latest in the Dangote Refinery Saga: Credit stall-out, rising oil prices, and currency exchange.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.