Reversal Thursday In Effect For Energy Futures
Reversal Thursday is in effect for energy futures as prices pulled back overnight after a strong Wednesday showing that saw gasoline prices surge another 7 cents/gallon, and most other contracts reach fresh 5 month highs. There’s a bit of a tug-of-war going on between the energy reports this week with yesterday’s OPEC & DOE reports showing bullish inventory figures, while today’s IEA report is more bearish on demand. While today’s pullback was probably overdue given the recent price run-up, we’ll need to see the losses double if the upward trend is to be broken.
Lost in the noise of yesterday’s price rally: US refinery capacity increased by 158mb/day last week according to the DOE’s estimates, the equivalent of adding a new average-sized refinery. That change is likely due to new projects completed to increase rates during the spring turnaround season, and brings the total US refining capacity to a new all-time high north of 18.7 million barrels/day.
This week marked the first time US gasoline stocks fell below their seasonal 5-year average since the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a truly remarkable change from the all-time high levels we saw less than 3 months ago.
The OPEC monthly report showed a decline of more than 500mb/day of production from the cartel as Saudi Arabia (down 324mb/day for March) continued its intentional cuts, while Venezuela (down 289) continued unintentionally reducing its output. It’s worth pointing out that Libya’s production did surge by almost 200mb/day in March, but that output is now at risk as their latest version of a civil war is taking place in April.
The IEA’s monthly oil market report showed similar declines in supply, but also gave warning on the demand side of the equation, noting that OECD oil demand fell for the past 2 quarters, primarily due to weak consumption in Europe and suggesting that the higher price environment may act as a headwind to future growth. The IEA’s report also noted a sharp drop in global refinery runs in March, largely due to the numerous unplanned outages in the US, on top of a busy turnaround season.
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Refined Products Are Moving Lower For A 2nd Day After Coming Under Heavy Selling Pressure In Wednesday’s Session
Refined products are moving lower for a 2nd day after coming under heavy selling pressure in Wednesday’s session. Rapidly increasing refinery runs and sluggish diesel demand both seemed to weigh heavily on product prices, while crude oil is still benefitting from the disruption of exports from Iraq. Prices remain range-bound, so expect more choppy back and forth action in the weeks ahead.
US oil inventories saw a large decline last week, despite another 13-million barrels of oil being found in the weekly adjustment figure, as imports dropped to a 2-year low, and refinery runs cranked up in most regions as many facilities return from spring maintenance.
The refining utilization percentage jumped to its highest level of the year but remains overstated since the new 250,000 barrels/day of output from Exxon’s Beaumont facility still isn’t being counted in the official capacity figures. If you’re shocked that the government report could have such a glaring omission, then you haven’t been paying attention to the Crude Adjustment figure this year, and the artificially inflated petroleum demand estimates that have come with it.
Speaking of which, we’re now just a couple of months away from WTI Midland crude oil being included in the Dated Brent index, and given the uncertainty in the US over what should be classified as oil vs condensate, expect some confusion once those barrels start being included in the international benchmark as well.
Diesel demand continues to hover near the lowest levels we’ve seen for the first quarter in the past 20+ years, dropping sharply again last week after 2 straight weeks of increases had some markets hoping that the worst was behind us. Now that we’re moving out of the heating season, we’ll soon get more clarity on how on road and industrial demand is holding up on its own in the weekly figures that have been heavily influenced by the winter that wasn’t across large parts of the country.
Speaking of which, the EIA offered another mea culpa of sorts Wednesday by comparing its October Winter Fuels outlook to the current reality, which shows a huge reduction in heating demand vs expectations just 6-months ago.
It’s not just domestic consumption of diesel that’s under pressure, exports have fallen below their 5-year average as buyers in South America are buying more Russian barrels, and European nations are getting more from new facilities in the Middle East.
Take a look at the spike in PADD 5 gasoline imports last week to get a feel for how the region may soon be forced to adjust to rapidly increasing refining capacity in Asia, while domestic facilities come under pressure.
Crude Oil Prices Are Trying To Lead Another Rally In Energy Futures This Morning
Crude oil prices are trying to lead another rally in energy futures this morning, while ULSD prices are resisting the pull higher. Stocks are pointed higher in the early going as no news is seen as good news in the banking crisis.
WTI prices have rallied by $10/barrel in the past 7 trading days, even with a $5 pullback last Thursday and Friday. The recovery puts WTI back in the top half of its March trading range but there’s still another $7 to go before the highs of the month are threatened.
Yesterday’s API report seems to be aiding the continued strength in crude, with a 6 million barrel inventory decline estimated by the industry group last week. That report also showed a decline of 5.9 million barrels of gasoline which is consistent with the spring pattern of drawdowns as we move through the RVP transition, while distillates saw a build of 550k barrels. The DOE’s weekly report is due out at its normal time this morning.
Diesel prices seems to be reacting both to the small build in inventories – which is yet another data point of the weak demand so far this year for distillates – and on the back of crumbling natural gas prices that settled at their lowest levels in 2.5 years yesterday and fell below $2/million BTU this morning.
While diesel futures are soft, rack markets across the Southwestern US remain unusually tight, with spreads vs spot markets approaching $1/gallon in several cases as local refiners go through maintenance and pipeline capacity for resupply remains limited. The tightest supply in the region however remains the Phoenix CBG boutique gasoline grade which is going for $1.20/gallon over spots as several of the few refineries that can make that product are having to perform maintenance at the same time.
French refinery strikes continue for a 4th week and are estimated to be keeping close to 1 million barrels/day of fuel production offline, which is roughly 90% of French capacity and almost 1% of total global capacity. That disruption is having numerous ripple effects on crude oil markets in the Atlantic basin, while the impact on refined product supplies and prices remains much more contained than it was when this happened just 5 months ago.
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