Energy Prices Are Making Modest Gains To Start December's Trading

Energy prices are making modest gains to start December’s trading, after a weak finish to November. The early gains of around 3 cents for refined products and $1 for crude futures seem to be encouraged by the sudden uptick in violence in Syria, which is helping the market shrug off concerns of a slowing economic growth in India, and forecasts that Saudi Arabia will once again be forced to cut prices due to slumping demand.

OPEC and Friends delayed their meeting scheduled for yesterday to Friday, with expectations for an extended production cut given the supply overhang globally.

The EIA last week showed modest product builds in the US last week, while demand held relatively steady. PADD 3 refinery runs continued to crank up, while PADD 2 runs dipped by 3%. Gulf Coast facilities continue to enjoy robust export demand, particularly as Mexico’s refineries struggle to maintain operations. Friday the EIA published their monthly report on biofuel production capacity, showing a reduction in RD/SAF capacity for the 2nd month out of 3, following 3 years of steady growth. Biodiesel capacity held steady for the month, but has moved lower this year as several facilities have shut down to avoid bankruptcy.

The CFTC’s commitments of traders report was not released Friday due to the holiday, and will be released this afternoon instead. We’ll see a similar delay at the end of the month, following the Christmas holiday, with the report released Monday the 30th.

Baker Hughes reported a net decline of 2 oil rigs active in the US last week, while natural gas rigs increased by 1. The Permian basin held steady with 300 oil rigs for a 5th straight week.