RIN Rollercoaster Remains In Full Effect

It’s a quiet start to end another strong week for energy prices, as traders seem content for now to wait and see what OPEC & friends will agree to next week. We did see some modest losses overnight, but futures have since moved back into the green with small gains on the day and will mark 6 straight sessions of increases for refined products if they can hold on.

WTI is set to finish a 5th consecutive week of gains, even as prices pulled back modestly from the multi-year highs set on Wednesday. Refined products are also treading water near multi-year highs, continuing to threaten a technical breakout to the upside that could add another 20 cents to prices this summer, but so far lacking the momentum to make a big move. 

The RIN rollercoaster remains in full effect, as the credits dropped 5-6 cents Thursday after a 50 cent recovery rally, that followed a 75 cent crash after prices reached record highs to start the month.  That’s pretty good action for a year, and in this case it’s happened in just over 2 weeks.

A new infrastructure agreement was announced, which does not include an increase in federal fuel taxes, and sharply reduces the amount of money pegged for electric vehicles. While the White House & several senators on both sides of the aisle set the terms of the deal, it’s not yet clear if this bill will have enough votes to get through congress.

Today’s interesting read: Why consumers, not producers, are the key to climate change goals, and why they’re not ready to give up cheap energy. Producers meanwhile continue to shift their stance, with the API laying out a new framework for standardizing the way companies report their emissions data. 

Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.