High Likelihood of Rack Price Changes Friday as NYMEX Remains Open

It’s another quiet start for energy markets Wednesday as the cease fire in Lebanon is in its early stages. RBOB gasoline futures are trying to lead another push higher after a failed Tuesday rally, while ULSD futures are hovering near break even in the early going.

Reminder that spot markets will not be assessed both Thursday and Friday, so the majority of the industry in the US will be taking a 4 day weekend. The NYMEX will not be shut down during this time however, so there’s a high likelihood of rack price changes Friday, particularly if we get big price swings on Black Friday like we saw a few years ago.

OPEC and friends decided to shift to a virtual meeting for their December 1st get together, which signaled to the market that they plan to hold their current output cuts for at least another month. Many believe the cartel will be forced to hold those voluntary production cuts for much longer as new supply from the US, Canada and others weighs heavily with global demand slumping.

The API reported builds in refined product inventories last week of 2.5 million barrels for diesel and 1.8 million barrels of gasoline, while crude oil stocks declined by nearly 6 million barrels. The DOE’s weekly report is due out at its normal time today.

The EIA this morning highlighted US gasoline prices which are at their lowest level for Thanksgiving travel since the pandemic. The concern for refiners is that we haven’t even started the winter demand doldrums, and gasoline margins are already hovering near break-even levels.

Let’s try that again: The Citgo auction may start over court advisor overseeing the process recommended starting from scratch.

PBF reported that it was planning flaring at its Torrance CA refinery for 2 weeks starting today. ENT had reported earlier in the week that the facility was preparing an overhaul on a reformer unit.