Refined Products Are Trading Down A Couple Of Cents In The Early Going While Crude Oil Contracts Are Seeing Modest Gains As July Trading Comes To A Close

Refined products are trading down a couple of cents in the early going while crude oil contracts are seeing modest gains as July trading comes to a close, in what should end up being the strongest month in almost a year for energy contracts.  

RBOB gasoline futures came within 65 points of reaching the $3/gallon mark Friday, before stalling out and pulling back to around $2.93 this morning. The July contract expires today, and August is trading more than 6 cents lower, reducing the chances of another run at $3 gasoline futures near term, while physical prices across the 3 West Coast spot markets are all well above that level. Most cash markets are already trading vs August futures, so watch that contract for price direction today if you’re not already.  

ULSD futures topped out at $2.9748 Friday before sliding to around $2.93 this morning but aren’t seeing anywhere near the backwardation of gasoline (another sign of the dramatic changes from a year ago) and the charts suggest a decent chance diesel futures can still make a run at $3 over the next several days. Just like gasoline, west coast ULSD spot markets are all trading north of $3, while markets east of the Rockies range from $2.86-$2.95 this morning. 

Money managers continue to jump on the energy bandwagon, adding length across the board last week in crude and refined products. The net length (bets on higher prices) for RBOB and ULSD is at the highest level of the year, with the late-comers still willing to buy after the strong July rally. From a historical perspective, the outstanding length held by the big speculators is relatively mild, so it’s not yet a contrary indicator that the trend may soon run out of steam.

Open interest continues to recover in RBOB ULSD and Brent contracts as easing volatility and margin requirements encourage funds to return to the market after many were forced out during last year’s chaos. The exception to the OI recovery rule is WTI, which is still running roughly ½ million contracts lower than anything we saw from 2016-2021.

The reason for the slump in the classic NYMEX crude oil contract appears to be the rapid expansion in trading activity for new WTI contracts FOB Houston and Midland as the export market for domestic crude grades increases. Both the CME Group (NYMEX parent) and ICE (Home of the Brent contract) are racing to take advantage of the changing patterns, and both exchanges have reported record trading activity in their new WTI contracts over the past week.

Baker Hughes reported a drop of 1 oil rig and 3 natural gas rigs drilling in the US last week, continuing the trend of slow but steady attrition in the rig count that’s been happening for most of the year. Unlike the past 3 weeks however, the Permian basin didn’t lead the slide, and actually increased by 1 rig on the week. Don’t expect a rapid recovery in rig counts with oil prices north of the $80 mark given the long lead times needed to acquire equipment and crews, but we may see the declines come to an end if prices can hold near current levels.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices spiked to a record high last week after the Air Resources Board (CARB) announced plans to make the Cap & Trade program more stringent.  California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credit values meanwhile continue to languish as new production of renewables, most notably renewable diesel, creates a surplus off credits and the state’s plans to also make that program more stringent are less clear.

The National Hurricane center is tracking two potential storm systems in the Atlantic this week, one of which is given 80% odds of being named, while the other has just 20%. Both systems look like they’ll stay far enough out to sea to not be a threat to land, while the map suggests they could end up merging off the coast of New England. Two storm systems converging off of the New England coast…seems oddly familiar.

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