More Choppy Action For Energy Contracts To Start The Last Day Of January, Which Will Be Highlighted By The Weekly Inventory Report

More choppy action for energy contracts to start the last day of January, which will be highlighted by the weekly inventory report, and a decision from the FED. Tuesday saw early morning selling largely erased in afternoon trading, with ULSD futures the only contract to end the day in the red. This morning ULSD futures are the only ones trading green, while RBOB and WTI see modest losses in the early going. Tuesday’s bounce keeps the bulls in control for now despite this week’s pullback in prices, with a strong spring rally still looking possible despite the weakness in many cash markets to start the year.

A glimmer of hope for peace? In addition to ongoing ceasefire talks in Gaza, one of Iran’s puppet armies announced it was backing down from attacks on US troops, as they try to avoid meeting the US Air Force the hard way following the deadly attacks on a base in Jordan. 

European Gasoil futures which are closely tight to ULSD (HO) futures in the US are trading lower for a 3rd straight day as traders seem to be betting that the supply disruptions caused by the re-routing of ships around the violence won’t become major. 

The FOMC will announce the latest in monetary policy at 1pm central today.  Pretty much nobody believes the FED will be changing rates today, with the CME’s Fedwatch tool showing just 2% probability of a 25-point rate reduction today. The big question for today’s whether or not the FED will signal plans to start lowering rates in March, with nearly half of the Fed Fund futures bets expecting the start of the easing then, down from 73% odds of a March cut bet a month ago.  

The API estimated crude oil and diesel stocks both declined by more than 2 million barrels last week, while gasoline stocks had a small build of around 600,000 barrels. The DOE’s weekly report will be out at its normal time this morning, and we’ll get to see how quickly refiners are coming back online after the cold snap. Don’t expect a complete bounce back in run rates this week however as there is plenty of scheduled maintenance occurring, as most refiners have been noting a busy turnaround schedule for Q1 in their earnings releases this week.  

Marathon noted two noteworthy projects in its Q4 earnings release Tuesday. The Galveston Bay facility, who earned frequent flier miles with the TCEQ in 2023 with nearly weekly upset reports, is going to install a new 90,000 distillate hydro-treater, with an expected completion in 2025. Their LA-area refinery meanwhile will be undergoing a modernization plan to improve its energy efficiency and reduce NOx emissions to meet California’s ever-changing regulations. The company did not specifically note anything about its renewable operations in the earnings release but did note in the analyst call that its converted facility in Martinez is running at less than half of its nameplate capacity after last year’s fire. For those who have been experiencing how suddenly long California is on RD this winter, just imagine if that plant was producing another 25MBD.

Phillips 66 continued the trend of good, not great, earnings in its Q4 report this morning, earning more than $800 million in its refining sector the past 3 months, down from $1.7 billion in Q3.  Unlike most of the others however, P66 continues to highlight its cost reduction strategies rather than its plans to grow, saying it achieved $1.2 billion in sustainable savings in 2023 which is AKA laying people off. The company’s conversion project in Rodeo CA is still scheduled to come online in the first quarter, although it remains unclear how long it will take between starting operations and reaching the new nameplate capacity of 50MBD of renewables output. The company continues to highlight plans to sell off roughly $3 billion in unnamed assets that don’t fit its long-term strategy.

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