Too Many Imports?
Energy prices appear to be calming after a spike in volatility over the past few weeks, and are starting off Friday’s session with modest losses. Prices remain in their sideways trading range, which means we’re likely to continue seeing back and forth action until a new trend develops.
U.S. equity markets meanwhile are having no problem finding direction, hitting fresh record highs this week, cheered on by signs that the economy continues to reopen even as pockets of the country deal with new COVID outbreaks, and in no small part to the $6 trillion or so in monetary and fiscal stimulus provided by the FED and Congress over the past year.
Too many imports? While most cash markets for gasoline have held relatively steady this week, basis values for NYH RBOB have dropped eight cents this week as it appears there’s too much higher RVP gasoline in the region just one week before trading switches over to the summer-grade products. There was a record surge in gasoline imports following the great refinery shutdown in February, and the Buckeye pipeline disruption in March, and this selloff suggests perhaps some suppliers are worried they brought in too much fuel from overseas and won’t be able to turn their tanks in time.
The EIA this morning is highlighting its STEO gasoline demand forecast that suggests consumption will be notably better than last summer, but still behind 2019.
It’s hard to read anything about the energy markets without a renewable component being factored in. A Reuters article this morning highlights the looming shortage of feedstocks for bio-based fuels as producers rush to take advantage of the lofty incentives available from the various federal and state programs that provide more than $5/gallon for some products depending on where they’re sold.
Another refinery casualty? Exxon announced Thursday it was considering shutting down its plant in Norway due to the overcapacity of refining in Europe.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
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Week 48 - US DOE Inventory Recap
The API Reported Gasoline Inventories Dropped By 898,000 Barrels Last Week
Gasoline and oil prices are attempting to rally for a 2nd straight day, a day ahead of the delayed OPEC meeting, while diesel prices are slipping back into the red following Tuesday’s strong showing.
The API reported gasoline inventories dropped by 898,000 barrels last week, crude inventories declined by 817,000 barrels while distillates saw an increase of 2.8 million barrels. Those inventory stats help explain the early increases for RBOB and WTI while ULSD is trading lower. The DOE’s weekly report is due out at its normal time this morning.
A severe storm on the Black Sea is disrupting roughly 2% of the world’s daily oil output and is getting some credit for the bounce in futures, although early reports suggest that this will be a short-lived event.
Chevron reported that its Richmond CA refinery was back online after a power outage Monday night. San Francisco spot diesel basis values rallied more than a dime Tuesday after a big drop on Monday following the news of that refinery being knocked offline.
Just a few days after Scotland’s only refinery announced it would close in 2025, Exxon touted its newest refinery expansion project in the UK Tuesday, with a video detailing how it was ramping up diesel production to reduce imports and possibly allow for SAF production down the road at its Fawley facility.
Ethanol prices continue to slump this week, reaching a 2-year low despite the bounce in gasoline prices as corn values dropped to a 3-year low, and the White House appears to be delaying efforts to shift to E15 in an election year.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
Values For Space On Colonial’s Main Gasoline Line Continue To Drop This Week
The petroleum complex continues to search for a price floor with relatively quiet price action this week suggesting some traders are going to wait and see what OPEC and Friends can decide on at their meeting Thursday.
Values for space on Colonial’s main gasoline line continue to drop this week, with trades below 10 cents/gallon after reaching a high north of 18-cents earlier in the month. Softer gasoline prices in New York seems to be driving the slide as the 2 regional refiners who had been down for extended maintenance both return to service. Diesel linespace values continue to hold north of 17-cents/gallon as East Coast stocks are holding at the low end of their seasonal range while Gulf Coast inventories are holding at average levels.
Reversal coming? Yesterday we saw basis values for San Francisco spot diesel plummet to the lowest levels of the year, but then overnight the Chevron refinery in Richmond was forced to shut several units due to a power outage which could cause those differentials to quickly find a bid if the supplier is forced to become a buyer to replace that output.
Money managers continued to reduce the net length held in crude oil contracts, with both Brent and WTI seeing long liquidation and new short positions added last week. Perhaps most notable from the weekly COT report data is that funds are continuing their counter-seasonal bets on higher gasoline prices. The net length held by large speculators for RBOB is now at its highest level since Labor Day, at a time of year when prices tend to drop due to seasonal demand weakness.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.