Gasoline Futures Have Surged To A New All-Time High On Friday The 13th
Gasoline futures have surged to a new all-time high on Friday the 13th, trading north of $3.90 for the first time and making a run at $4 seem inevitable.
Most cash markets in the US are following the lead of futures and are hitting record highs this morning as well, with Midwestern gasoline a notable exception as Group 3 spots dropped to a 40 cent discount below the June RBOB contract. West Coast basis values meanwhile are seeing strong gains this week following reports of more refinery issues keeping supplies tight in the region.
While it may not (yet) be as dramatic as what we’ve witnessed the past month in ULSD futures, the backwardation in RBOB contracts is reaching extreme levels, with the January 2023 contract trading more than $1 below June values. Just as we saw with distillates, this spread creates a challenging environment of huge basis swings and a reluctance by shippers to hold inventory today and sell it for much less down the road.
Don’t worry about most of the shippers however, as the crack spread charts below show margins that have spiked north of $50/barrel for many, which is roughly $1.20/gallon. Think about what your business will do to save a penny per gallon, and imagine what’s happening at those facilities when they can make $1 just two years after most were hemorrhaging cash. Those higher crack spreads seem to be keeping a bid under RIN values as well, with D6 values reaching their highest levels since last August yesterday.
The IEA followed the lead of OPEC and the EIA in estimating a slowdown in global economic growth in the back half of the year in its monthly oil market report, thanks (or no thanks) in large part to demand destruction caused by “soaring pump prices”. The good news, if you’re looking for an end to high fuel prices, is that the agency expects oil output outside of Russia to grow by 3 million barrels/day from May to December, which should largely offset the drop in Russian output. The report does remind us however that the worst of the supply crunch is still ahead of us as most Russian exports have continued thanks to deals struck before their invasion, but those transactions are quickly coming to an end.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
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Energy Prices Up Over 2% Across The Board This Morning
Refined product futures traded in an 8-10 cent range yesterday with prompt heating oil settling up ~6 cents and RBOB ending up about flat. Oil prices clawed back some of the losses taken in the first two full trading days of the week, putting the price per barrel for US crude back over the $70 mark. Prices are up just over 2% across the board this morning, signifying confidence after the Senate passed the bipartisan debt ceiling bill last night.
The EIA reported crude oil inventories up 4.5 million barrels last week, aided by above-average imports, weakened demand, and a sizeable increase to their adjustment factor. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve continues to release weekly through June and the 355 million barrels remaining in the SPR is now at a low not seen since September 1983. Exports increased again on the week and continue to run well above last year’s record-setting levels through the front half of the year. Refinery runs and utilization rates have increased to their highest points this year, both sitting just above year-ago rates.
Diesel stocks continue to hover around the low end of the 5-year range set in 2022, reporting a build of about half of what yesterday’s API data showed. Most PADDs saw modest increases last week but all are sitting far below average levels. Distillate imports show 3 weeks of growth trending along the seasonal average line, while 3.7 million barrels leaving the US last week made it the largest increase in exports for the year. Gasoline inventories reported a small decline on the week, also being affected by the largest jump in exports this year, leaving it under the 5-year range for the 11th consecutive week. Demand for both products dwindled last week; however, gas is still comfortably above average despite the drop.
The sentiment surrounding OPEC+’s upcoming meeting is they’re not likely to extend oil supply cuts, despite prices falling early in the week. OPEC+ is responsible for a significant portion of global crude oil production and its policy decisions can have a major impact on prices. Some members of OPEC+ have voluntarily cut production since April due to a waning economic outlook, but the group is not expected to take further action next week.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk
Prices Are Mixed This Morning As The Potential Halt In U.S. Interest Rate Hikes
Bearish headlines pushed refined products and crude futures down again yesterday. Prompt RBOB closed the month at $2.5599 and HO at $2.2596 with WTI dropping another $1.37 to $68.09 and Brent losing 88 cents. Prices are mixed this morning as the potential halt in U.S. interest rate hikes and the House passing of the US debt ceiling bill balanced the impact of rising inventories and mixed demand signals from China.
The American Petroleum Institute reported crude builds of 5.2 million barrels countering expectations of a draw. Likewise, refined product inventories missed expectations and were also reported to be up last week with gasoline adding 1.891 million barrels and diesel stocks rising 1.849 million barrels. The market briefly attempted a push higher but ultimately settled with losses following the reported supply increases implying weaker than anticipated demand. The EIA will publish its report at 10am this morning.
LyondellBasell announced plans yesterday to delay closing of their Houston refinery, originally scheduled to shut operations by the end of this year, through Q1 2025. The company “remains committed to ceasing operation of its oil refining business” but the 289,000 b/d facility remaining online longer than expected will likely have market watchers adjusting this capacity back into their balance estimates.
Side note: there is still an ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Two oil refineries located east of Russia's major oil export terminals were targeted by drone attacks. The Afipsky refinery’s 37,000 b/d crude distillation unit was struck yesterday, igniting a massive fire that was later extinguished while the other facility avoided any damage. The attacks are part of a series of intensified drone strikes on Russian oil pipelines. Refineries in Russia have been frequently targeted by drones since the start of the military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.