Petroleum Futures Are Working To Go 5 For 5 To Start The New Year As The Bull Run Continues
Petroleum futures are working to go 5 for 5 to start the new year as the bull run continues, pushing ULSD back to the $2.50 mark and WTI above $80 in early trading. Cash prices haven’t seen as dramatic a move as futures in most cases as they had to overcome the New Year’s Eve futures selloff that didn’t hit wholesale prices until Monday night, but are still pointing towards healthy gains, despite evidence that we’re experiencing the worst fuel demand in parts of the country since the 2020 lockdowns as a parade of winter storms has accentuated the typical seasonal slowdown.
While there’s no doubt the bulls took control of the energy markets this week, now that the short term technical targets have been reached, it looks like we could be due for a period of sideways trading, especially if we lose upward momentum in equity markets. Longer term, the bulls will need to find a way to make a run at the October highs in the next month or two – which is easier said than done this time of year – if they’re to avoid a longer-term bearish pattern on the charts.
The December Jobs report showed another healthy month of increases with 199,000 jobs created, while both the headline and “real” (U-6) unemployment rates continued their declines. In addition, the October and November estimates were revised higher by 149,000 jobs, adding to the overall feeling of strength in the labor market. Energy prices haven’t reacted much to the report, but equity prices are coming under pressure and interest rates are pushing higher again as we remain in a “good news is bad news” market since the strong job market just gives the FED another reason to shut down the money printing presses and start raising rates.
Back in the USSR: Russian troops have invaded intervened to quell deadly protests in Kazakhstan over the removal of fuel price subsidies. Those protests appear to also be interrupting crude exports from the country’s largest oilfield, which – combined with ongoing disruptions in Libyan - is likely to keep actual production from the OPEC & Friends cartel well below their target levels.
RIN prices have continued their steady march higher this week, and D6 (ethanol) values are now threatening the downward sloping trend-line that pushed prices from $2 in June to 80 cents in December. There doesn’t appear to be any “new” news driving the run-up in RINs, but the ongoing industry statements regarding the EPA’s proposed rules for 2020-2022 suggest that if those RVO’s become law, we’re destined to see another extended court battle.
Ethanol prices meanwhile continue to see a dramatic drop, with most US spot markets now trading $1.50/gallon or more lower than they were just 6 weeks ago the winter demand doldrums that are being felt by gasoline producers all over the country are spilling over into the alcohol fuel arena and helping alleviate the supply bottlenecks that drove the record setting backwardation last year.
Today’s interesting read: Climate Change mistakes and the influence of fuel prices in politics.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
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“Buy The Rumor, Sell The News” Seems To Be The Trading Pattern Of The Week
“Buy the Rumor, Sell the News” seems to be the trading pattern of the week as oil and refined products dropped sharply Thursday after OPEC & Friends announced another round of output cuts for the first quarter of next year.
Part of the reason for the decline following that report is that it appears that the cartel wasn’t able to reach an official agreement on the plan for next year, prompting those that could volunteer their own production cuts without forcing restrictions on others. In addition, OPEC members not named Saudi Arabia are notorious for exceeding official quotas when they are able to, and Russia appears to be (surprise) playing games by announcing a cut that is made up of both crude oil and refined products, which are already restricted and thus allow an incremental increase of exports.
Diesel futures are leading the way lower this morning, following a 13-cent drop from their morning highs Thursday, and came within 3-cents of a new 4-month low overnight. The prompt contract did leave a gap on the chart due to the backwardation between December and January contracts, which cut out another nickel from up front values.
Gasoline futures meanwhile are down 15-cents from yesterday’s pre-OPEC highs and are just 7-cents away from reaching a new 1-year low.
Cash markets across most of the country are looking soft as they often do this time of year, with double digit discounts to futures becoming the rule across the Gulf Coast and Mid Continent. The West Coast is mixed with diesel prices seeing big discounts in San Francisco, despite multiple refinery upsets this week, while LA clings to small premiums.
Ethanol prices continue to hold near multi-year lows this week as controversy over the fuel swirls. Corn growing states filed a motion this week trying to compel the courts to force the EPA to waive pollution laws to allow E15 blends. Meanwhile, the desire to grow even more corn to produce Jet Fuel is being hotly debated as the environmental impacts depend on which side of the food to fuel lobby you talk to.
The chaotic canal congestion in Panama is getting worse as authorities are continuing to reduce the daily number of ships transiting due to low water levels. Those delays are hitting many industries, energy included, and are now spilling over to one of the world’s other key shipping bottlenecks.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
No Official Word From OPEC Yet On Their Output Agreement For Next Year
Energy prices are pushing higher to start Thursday’s session after a big bounce Wednesday helped the complex maintain its upward momentum for the week.
There’s no official word from OPEC yet on their output agreement for next year, but the rumor-mill is in high gear as always leading up to the official announcement, if one is actually made at all. A Reuters article this morning suggests that “sources” believe Saudi Arabia will continue leading the cartel with a voluntary output cut of around 1-million BPD to begin the year and given the recent drop in prices that seems like a logical move.
We saw heavy selling in the immediate wake of the DOE’s weekly report Wednesday, only to see prices reverse course sharply later in the day. ULSD was down more than 9-cents for a few minutes following the report but bounced more than 7-cents in the afternoon and is leading the push higher this morning so far.
It’s common to see demand drop sharply following a holiday, particularly for diesel as many commercial users simply shut down their operations for several days, but last week’s drop in implied diesel demand was one of the largest on record for the DOE’s estimates. That drop in demand, along with higher refinery runs, helped push diesel inventories higher in all markets, and the weekly days of supply estimate jumped from below the 5-year seasonal range around 25 days of supply to above the high end of the range at 37 days of supply based on last week’s estimated usage although it’s all but guaranteed we’ll see a correction higher in demand next week.
Gasoline demand also slumped, dropping to the low end of the seasonal range, and below year-ago levels for the first time in 5-weeks. You’d never guess that based on the bounce in gasoline prices that followed the DOE’s report however, with traders appearing to bet that the demand slump in a seasonal anomaly and tighter than average inventories may drive a counter-seasonal price rally.
Refinery runs increased across the country as plants returned to service following the busiest fall maintenance season in at least 4-years. While total refinery run rates are still below last year’s levels, they’re now above the 5-year average with more room to increase as no major upsets have been reported to keep a large amount of throughput offline.
The exception to the refinery run ramp up comes from PADD 4 which was the only region to see a decline last week after Suncor apparently had another inopportune upset at its beleaguered facility outside Denver.
The 2023 Atlantic Hurricane season officially ends today, and it will go down as the 4th most active season on record, even though it certainly didn’t feel too severe given that the US dodged most of the storms.
Today is also the expiration day for December 2023 ULSD and RBOB futures so look to the January contracts (RBF and HOF) for price direction if your market hasn’t already rolled.
More refineries ready to change hands next year? With Citgo scheduled to be auctioned off, Irving Oil undergoing a strategic evaluation, and multiple new refineries possibly coming online, 2024 was already looking to be a turbulent year for refinery owners. Phillips 66 was indicating that it may sell off some of its refinery assets, but a new activist investor may upend those plans, along with the company’s directors.