Unusual Day For Market Watchers

Market TalkMonday, Jul 8 2019
Heavy Selling In Energy Futures

Are prices up or down today? That depends on your reference point. Today is an unusual day for market watchers in that futures are trading lower (from Friday’s settlement) but since cash markets have been closed from Wednesday, physical prices may still be moving higher from where they left off since futures moved higher over the holiday.

Good news is bad news:

The early selling seems to be in sympathy with stock markets around the world that are reacting negatively to Friday’s strong US Payroll report that estimated 224,000 jobs were added in June, and has traders betting on a less aggressive rate cut by the FED in July. Based on the CME’s FedWatch tool, traders were giving a 100% chance of at least a 25 point cut, and a 20% chance of a 50 point rate cut at this month’s FOMC meeting prior to Friday’s report. This morning, the odds of a 50 point cut have been slashed to zero, which seems to be disappointing stock markets.

Look out below? The National Hurricane center is giving a low pressure system that’s currently moving over Georgia an 80% chance of developing into a tropical system when it dips down into the Gulf of Mexico later this week. While this pattern would be an unusual path for a tropical storm, and the water this time of year may not be warm enough to allow this system to become a large storm, areas of Louisiana and Texas home to numerous refineries have already been dealing with flood waters and may still be at risk.

The EPA published its proposal for 2020 renewable volumes under the RFS on Friday. The proposed volumes include volume growth targets in line with recent years, and the agency once again decided not to reallocate any volumes waived due to small refinery exemptions, which is drawing loud criticism from agricultural groups and presumably less loud praise from refiners.

A little too optimistic? Note in the RFS table below how the original statute assumed that by 2020 the US would be producing more than 10 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol, which is half of what the total combined renewable fuel consumption will actually be next year, and some 20 times the expected actual production of cellulosic fuel.

The CFTC commitment of traders reports are delayed due to the Holiday, but ICE published figures last week that showed money managers reduced their net long holdings in Brent for an 8th straight week.

Baker Hughes reported that 5 oil rigs were taken off-line last week, wiping out the gains of the previous two weekly reports. The Woodford basin in Oklahoma accounted for most of the decline last week, after posting the largest increases the past two weeks.

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Pivotal Week For Price Action
Market TalkThursday, Apr 18 2024

The Sell-Off Continues In Energy Markets, RBOB Gasoline Futures Are Now Down Nearly 13 Cents In The Past Two Days

The sell-off continues in energy markets. RBOB gasoline futures are now down nearly 13 cents in the past two days, and have fallen 16 cents from a week ago, leading to questions about whether or not we’ve seen the seasonal peak in gasoline prices. ULSD futures are also coming under heavy selling pressure, dropping 15 cents so far this week and are trading at their lowest level since January 3rd.

The drop on the weekly chart certainly takes away the upside momentum for gasoline that still favored a run at the $3 mark just a few days ago, but the longer term up-trend that helped propel a 90-cent increase since mid-December is still intact as long as prices stay above the $2.60 mark for the next week. If diesel prices break below $2.50 there’s a strong possibility that we see another 30 cent price drop in the next couple of weeks.

An unwind of long positions after Iran’s attack on Israel was swatted out of the sky without further escalation (so far anyway) and reports that Russia is resuming refinery runs, both seeming to be contributing factors to the sharp pullback in prices.

Along with the uncertainty about where the next attacks may or may not occur, and if they will have any meaningful impact on supply, come no shortage of rumors about potential SPR releases or how OPEC might respond to the crisis. The only thing that’s certain at this point, is that there’s much more spare capacity for both oil production and refining now than there was 2 years ago, which seems to be helping keep a lid on prices despite so much tension.

In addition, for those that remember the chaos in oil markets 50 years ago sparked by similar events in and around Israel, read this note from the NY Times on why things are different this time around.

The DOE’s weekly status report was largely ignored in the midst of the big sell-off Wednesday, with few noteworthy items in the report.

Diesel demand did see a strong recovery from last week’s throwaway figure that proves the vulnerability of the weekly estimates, particularly the week after a holiday, but that did nothing to slow the sell-off in ULSD futures.

Perhaps the biggest next of the week was that the agency made its seasonal changes to nameplate refining capacity as facilities emerged from their spring maintenance.

PADD 2 saw an increase of 36mb/day, and PADD 3 increased by 72mb/day, both of which set new records for regional capacity. PADD 5 meanwhile continued its slow-motion decline, losing another 30mb/day of capacity as California’s war of attrition against the industry continues. It’s worth noting that given the glacial pace of EIA reporting on the topic, we’re unlikely to see the impact of Rodeo’s conversion in the official numbers until next year.

Speaking of which, if you believe the PADD 5 diesel chart below that suggests the region is running out of the fuel, when in fact there’s an excess in most local markets, you haven’t been paying attention. Gasoline inventories on the West Coast however do appear consistent with reality as less refining output and a lack of resupply options both continue to create headaches for suppliers.

Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk, including all charts from the Weekly DOE Report.

Pivotal Week For Price Action
Pivotal Week For Price Action
Market TalkWednesday, Apr 17 2024

Prices To Lease Space On Colonial’s Main Gasoline Line Continue To Rally This Week

Energy markets are sliding lower again to start Wednesday’s trading as demand concerns and weaker stock markets around the world seem to be outweighing any supply concerns for the time being.

Rumors continue to swirl about an “imminent” response by Israel to Iran’s attacks, but so far, no news seems to be taken as good news in the hopes that further escalation can be avoided, even as tensions near the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz continue to simmer.

Prices to lease space on Colonial’s main gasoline line continue to rally this week, trading north of 11 cents/gallon as Gulf Coast producers still struggle to find outlets for their production, despite a healthy export market. Gulf Coast CBOB is trading at discounts of around 34 cents to futures, while Gulf Coast RBOB is trading around a 16-cent discount, which gives shippers room to pay up for the linespace and still deliver into the East Coast markets at a profit.

Back to reality, or just the start of more volatility? California CARBOB basis values have dropped back to “only” 40 cent premiums to RBOB futures this week, as multiple flaring events at California refineries don’t appear to have impacted supply. The state has been an island for fuel supplies for many years as its boutique grades prevent imports from neighboring states, and now add the conversion of the P66 Rodeo refinery to renewable diesel production and the pending changes to try and cap refinery profits, and it’s easier to understand why these markets are increasingly vulnerable to supply shocks and price spikes on gasoline.

RIN prices continue to fall this week, touching 44 cents/RIN for D4 and D6 values Tuesday, their lowest level in 6 weeks and just about a nickel above a 4-year low. While the sharp drop in RIN and LCFS values has caused several biodiesel and Renewable Diesel producers to either shut down or limit production, the growth in RIN generation continues thanks to projects like the Rodeo refinery conversion, making the supply in RINs still outpace the demand set by the Renewable Fuel Standard by a wide margin.

The API reported draws in refined products, 2.5 million barrels for gasoline and 427,000 barrels for distillates, while crude oil stocks had an estimated build of more than 4 million barrels. The DOE’s weekly report is due out at its normal time this morning.


Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.