Energy Markets Trading Modestly Lower
Energy markets are trading modestly lower to start Tuesday’s session as global equity markets seem to have settled down a bit, as has the rhetoric over tensions between the US and Saudi Arabia, which only yesterday had several market watchers calling for $100 and even $400 oil prices if the world’s largest producers decided to brandish the oil weapon.
Right on cue, the EIA published a note this morning highlighting the rapid changes in the US Energy Trade balance over the past decade, with Canada now sending more oil to the US, than the rest of the world combined.
The good news for US consumers with those Canadian imports is that prices are less affected by issues such as the tensions with Saudi Arabia (as several news outlets have highlighted this week, it’s not 1973) or even the sanctions on Iran. Unfortunately for Canadian producers, since most of its exports go to US refiners, logistical bottlenecks coupled with a busy maintenance schedule for refiners as we’re seeing in PADD 2 currently has driven prices to the $25 range even while other oil grades are still going for more than $80.
Spot gasoline prices in the Portland spot trading hub (also known as the PNW) plunged more than 30 cents/gallon Monday as local refiners came back online after last week’s natural-gas pipeline explosion caused them to cut rates.
A week after an explosion shut the Irving refinery in Saint John NB, the Canadian version of OSHA has still yet to examine the site due to safety concerns, leaving plenty of uncertainty as to when the plant will resume operations. The refinery is above average at 320,000 barrels/day, but it’s location is what gives its strong influence on US gasoline and diesel markets from New York City through New England, meaning it could still create a price reaction for futures markets even though the downtime has become yesterday’s news.
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The Energy Bulls Are On The Run This Morning, Lead By Heating And Crude Oil Futures
The energy bulls are on the run this morning, lead by heating and crude oil futures. The November HO contract is trading ~7.5 cents per gallon (2.3%) higher while WTI is bumped $1.24 per barrel (1.3%) so far in pre-market trading. Their gasoline counterpart is rallying in sympathy with .3% gains to start the day.
The October contracts for both RBOB and HO expire today, and while trading action looks to be pretty tame so far, it isn’t a rare occurrence to see some big price swings on expiring contracts as traders look to close their positions. It should be noted that the only physical market pricing still pricing their product off of October futures, while the rest of the nation already switched to the November contract over the last week or so.
We’ve now got two named storms in the Atlantic, Philippe and Rina, but both aren’t expected to develop into major storms. While most models show both storms staying out to sea, the European model for weather forecasting shows there is a possibility that Philippe gets close enough to the Northeast to bring rain to the area, but not much else.
The term “$100 oil” is starting to pop up in headlines more and more mostly because WTI settled above the $90 level back on Tuesday, but partially because it’s a nice round number that’s easy to yell in debates or hear about from your father-in-law on the golf course. While the prospect of sustained high energy prices could be harmful to the economy, its important to note that the current short supply environment is voluntary. The spigot could be turned back on at any point, which could topple oil prices in short order.
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Gasoline And Crude Oil Futures Are All Trading Between .5% And .8% Lower To Start The Day
The energy complex is sagging this morning with the exception of the distillate benchmark as the prompt month trading higher by about a penny. Gasoline and crude oil futures are all trading between .5% and .8% lower to start the day, pulling back after WTI traded above $95 briefly in the overnight session.
There isn’t much in the way of news this morning with most still citing the expectation for tight global supply, inflation and interest rates, and production cuts by OPEC+.
As reported by the Department of Energy yesterday, refinery runs dropped in all PADDs, except for PADD 3, as we plug along into the fall turnaround season. Crude oil inventories drew down last week, despite lower runs and exports, and increased imports, likely due to the crude oil “adjustment” the EIA uses to reconcile any missing barrels from their calculated estimates.
Diesel remains tight in the US, particularly in PADD 5 (West Coast + Nevada, Arizona) but stockpiles are climbing back towards their 5-year seasonal range. It unsurprising to see a spike in ULSD imports to the region since both Los Angeles and San Francisco spot markets are trading at 50+ cent premiums to the NYMEX. We’ve yet to see such relief on the gasoline side of the barrel, and we likely won’t until the market switches to a higher RVP.