We’re Seeing Overnight Losses Turn Into Morning Gains For A Third Straight Session
We’re seeing overnight losses turn into morning gains for a third straight session as the US East Coast continues to grapple with tight supplies of gasoline and diesel that are giving traders plenty of reasons to buy any dip.
What’s different about the rallies this week is it has been RBOB more than ULSD leading the charge as the East Coast shortages are suddenly worse on gasoline than they are for diesel, with numerous short term terminal outages of RBOB and ethanol reported in the region over the past 72 hours due to various supply delays.
November RBOB futures saw a 24 cent rally from low to high Tuesday, the biggest jump in prices since the chaotic trading in May. The November/December RBOB spread surged past 35 cents during that rally, proving that the rally is more short squeeze caused by a variety of disruptions in supply, rather than an expectation of strong gasoline demand.
Premiums to ship product on Colonial pipeline for both gasoline and diesel remain in positive territory for the first time since May as refiners struggle to find ways to move product from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast.
Who needs more pipelines anyway? While Europe continues to struggle with supply shortages and extremely high prices, natural gas producers in West Texas are now having to pay buyers to get rid of their product as pipeline maintenance reduces outlets for that fuel.
The API reported a build of 4.5 million barrels of crude oil inventory last week, thanks to another 3 million barrel release from the SPR, while gasoline stocks declined by 2.3 million barrels and distillates ticked slightly higher by 635k barrels. The DOE/EIA’s weekly report is due out at its normal time this morning.
A couple of interesting notes from Valero’s earnings call Tuesday (Besides the $2.8 billion in quarterly profit) was that the company expects more SPR releases from the US (of which they’re a major buyer) and they don’t expect any of the refineries shuttered in the past couple of years to come back online.
Speaking of which, an EPA report on the shuttered refinery now known as Limetree Bay (formerly known as Hovensa) suggests that the odds of that plant ever operating again are slim to none. Don’t worry though, China is starting up one of its new refineries this week, and we know how they like to play nice with the rest of the world.
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Energy Futures Are Caught Up In Headline Tug-O-War This Morning
Energy futures are caught up in headline tug-o-war this morning with Canadian oil production concerns and a positive US GDP report trying to push prices higher while sinking Chinese demand worries and Gaza ceasefire hopes are applying downward pressure. The latter two seem to be favored more so far this morning with WTI and Brent crude oil futures down ~45 cents per barrel, while gasoline and diesel prices are down about half a cent and two cents, respectively.
No news is good news? Chicago gasoline prices dropped nearly 30 cents yesterday, despite there not being any update on Exxon’s Joliet refinery after further damage was discovered Wednesday. Its tough to say if traders have realized the supply situation isn’t as bad as originally thought or if this historically volatile market is just being itself (aka ‘Chicago being Chicago’).
The rain isn’t letting up along the Texas Gulf Coast today and is forecasted to carry on through the weekend. While much of the greater Houston area is under flood watch, only two refineries are within the (more serious) flood warning area: Marathon’s Galveston Bay and Valero’s Texas City refineries. However, notification that more work is needed at Phillip’s 66 Borger refinery (up in the panhandle) is the only filing we’ve seen come through the TECQ, so far.
Premiums over the tariff on Colonial’s Line 1 (aka linespace value) returned to zero yesterday, and actually traded in the negatives, after its extended run of positive values atypical of this time of year. Line 1’s counterpart, Line 2, which carries distillates from Houston to Greensboro NC, has traded at a discount so far this year, due to the healthy, if not over-, supply of diesel along the eastern seaboard.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
WTI And Brent Crude Oil Futures Are Trading ~$1.50 Per Barrel Lower In Pre-Market Trading
The across-the-board drawdown in national energy stockpiles, as reported by the Department of Energy yesterday, stoked bullish sentiment Wednesday and prompt month gasoline, diesel, and crude oil futures published gains on the day. Those gains are being given back this morning.
The surprise rate cut by the People’s Bank of China is being blamed for the selling we are seeing in energy markets this morning. While the interest rate drop in both short- and medium-term loans won’t likely affect energy prices outright, the concern lies in the overall economic health of the world’s second largest economy and crude oil consumer. Prompt month WTI and Brent crude oil futures are trading ~$1.50 per barrel lower in pre-market trading, gasoline and diesel are following suit, shaving off .0400-.0450 per gallon.
Chicagoland RBOB has maintained its 60-cent premium over New York prices through this morning and shows no sign of coming down any time soon. Quite the opposite in fact: the storm damage, which knocked Exxon Mobil’s Joliet refinery offline on 7/15, seems to be more extensive than initially thought, potentially extending the repair time and pushing back the expected return date.
There are three main refineries that feed the Chicago market, the impact from one of them shutting down abruptly can be seen in the charts derived from aforementioned data published by the DOE. Refinery throughput in PADD 2 dropped 183,000 barrels per day, driving gasoline stockpiles in the area down to a new 5-year seasonal low.
While it seems all is quiet on the Atlantic front (for now), America’s Refineryland is forecasted to receive non-stop rain and thunderstorms for the next four days. While it may not be as dramatic as a hurricane, flooding and power outages can shut down refineries, and cities for that matter, all the same, as we learned from Beryl.