Gasoline Plucked Energy Futures Out Of The Red Yesterday Morning

The demand figures from the DOE report seemed to be the impetus for the buying action we saw yesterday. The counter-seasonal spike in petroleum demand, specifically gasoline, plucked energy futures out of the red yesterday morning, continuing the streak of gains the big three American benchmarks have been enjoying for the past six sessions. Also, the confirmation of the API’s estimate of a drawdown in crude oil, gasoline, and diesel stockpiles offered no bearish support.

Futures are attempting to sell off again this morning, citing Chinese demand concerns as its reason. WTI and Brent prompt month contracts are down around 20-30 cents per barrel so far today while refined products’ March contract (widely referenced as the price-setting contract this late in the month) are both trading flat.

The EIA published an uplifting note this morning showing CO2 emissions from energy consumption hitting a 40-year low in 2020 in the US. The transportation sector, which makes up just under 40% of the nation’s emissions, was down 15% since 2019 due to COVID-19 lockdowns. It will be interesting to see how much that number comes back up with some companies’ ‘back to office’ push.

The NYMEX will be open tomorrow and settle at its regular time despite most market participants taking the day off to celebrate the new year. It is not a banking holiday however petroleum Price Reporting Agencies will not publish new prices tomorrow.

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