Second Quarter Winds Down In Quiet Fashion
The second quarter is winding down in a quiet fashion so far with minimal moves in refined products, although oil prices are feeling some downward pressure in the early going. From a chart perspective, most energy futures are moving into a neutral territory which suggests the summer doldrums may soon be upon us with choppy but aimless trading to be expected.
July RBOB and ULSD/HO futures expire today, so look to the August (RBQ/HOQ) contracts for price direction this afternoon.
This was an unprecedented six months for energy markets. Remember in January when the U.S. and Iran started lobbing missiles at each other, threatening to send crude to $100/barrel? What a quaint idea that seemed just three months later when prices for WTI went negative for the first time ever, then about 25 minutes later went to negative $40/barrel.
Perhaps most remarkable about all of it is that as the dust is settling, oil prices are ending the same quarter that saw a 350 percent price drop in one day, with their largest quarterly percentage increase in three decades.
Looking back, the second quarter may be remembered as either the ultimate sign of American resilience, with U.S. energy and equity markets rallying sharply in the face of so much fear and uncertainty, or perhaps as one of the biggest head-fakes of all time if those fears come true later in the year.
It’s been a rough week so far for the oil majors. Exxon announced it was preparing substantial
job cuts over the weekend, BP announced it was selling its chemicals unit Monday, and now Shell announced it was planning an asset write down of up to $22 billion this morning.
Refiners aren’t faring much better these days as margins remain tight, and production increases are hampered by the unknown impact of the latest activity restrictions. Some Midwest refiners are also having to deal with the closure of Enbridge’s line 5 – which could become permanent – and is forcing at least temporary run cuts at OH and MI refineries.
Better times ahead? The Dallas FED’s Texas Manufacturing outlook showed a strong recovery in June, indicating an expansion in factory output after three months of steep declines. Similar to the energy outlook published last week, the factory survey shows expectations that most operations will be close to full capacity by the end of the year. That optimism may be a key barometer to watch in July as we’ll get a chance to see whether or not the tighter restrictions at the state and local levels impact these businesses.
After a volatile June, RIN values have been quiet as we approach month end. The possibility of retroactive small refinery exemptions continues to seem to be the market driving ping pong ball in the renewables market, with governors on the ag side of the debate weighing in with the EPA this week.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
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Gasoline Futures Are Leading The Energy Complex Higher This Morning With 1.5% Gains So Far In Pre-Market Trading
Gasoline futures are leading the energy complex higher this morning with 1.5% gains so far in pre-market trading. Heating oil futures are following close behind, exchanging hands 4.5 cents higher than Friday’s settlement (↑1.3%) while American and European crude oil futures trade modestly higher in sympathy.
The world’s largest oil cartel is scheduled to meet this Wednesday but is unlikely they will alter their supply cuts regimen. The months-long rally in oil prices, however, has some thinking Saudi Arabia might being to ease their incremental, voluntary supply cuts.
Tropical storm Rina has dissolved over the weekend, leaving the relatively tenured Philippe the sole point of focus in the Atlantic storm basin. While he is expected to strengthen into a hurricane by the end of this week, most projections keep Philippe out to sea, with a non-zero percent chance he makes landfall in Nova Scotia or Maine.
Unsurprisingly the CFTC reported a 6.8% increase in money manager net positions in WTI futures last week as speculative bettors piled on their bullish bets. While $100 oil is being shoutedfromeveryrooftop, we’ve yet to see that conviction on the charts: open interest on WTI futures is far below that of the last ~7 years.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
The Energy Bulls Are On The Run This Morning, Lead By Heating And Crude Oil Futures
The energy bulls are on the run this morning, lead by heating and crude oil futures. The November HO contract is trading ~7.5 cents per gallon (2.3%) higher while WTI is bumped $1.24 per barrel (1.3%) so far in pre-market trading. Their gasoline counterpart is rallying in sympathy with .3% gains to start the day.
The October contracts for both RBOB and HO expire today, and while trading action looks to be pretty tame so far, it isn’t a rare occurrence to see some big price swings on expiring contracts as traders look to close their positions. It should be noted that the only physical market pricing still pricing their product off of October futures, while the rest of the nation already switched to the November contract over the last week or so.
We’ve now got two named storms in the Atlantic, Philippe and Rina, but both aren’t expected to develop into major storms. While most models show both storms staying out to sea, the European model for weather forecasting shows there is a possibility that Philippe gets close enough to the Northeast to bring rain to the area, but not much else.
The term “$100 oil” is starting to pop up in headlines more and more mostly because WTI settled above the $90 level back on Tuesday, but partially because it’s a nice round number that’s easy to yell in debates or hear about from your father-in-law on the golf course. While the prospect of sustained high energy prices could be harmful to the economy, its important to note that the current short supply environment is voluntary. The spigot could be turned back on at any point, which could topple oil prices in short order.
Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.
Gasoline And Crude Oil Futures Are All Trading Between .5% And .8% Lower To Start The Day
The energy complex is sagging this morning with the exception of the distillate benchmark as the prompt month trading higher by about a penny. Gasoline and crude oil futures are all trading between .5% and .8% lower to start the day, pulling back after WTI traded above $95 briefly in the overnight session.
There isn’t much in the way of news this morning with most still citing the expectation for tight global supply, inflation and interest rates, and production cuts by OPEC+.
As reported by the Department of Energy yesterday, refinery runs dropped in all PADDs, except for PADD 3, as we plug along into the fall turnaround season. Crude oil inventories drew down last week, despite lower runs and exports, and increased imports, likely due to the crude oil “adjustment” the EIA uses to reconcile any missing barrels from their calculated estimates.
Diesel remains tight in the US, particularly in PADD 5 (West Coast + Nevada, Arizona) but stockpiles are climbing back towards their 5-year seasonal range. It unsurprising to see a spike in ULSD imports to the region since both Los Angeles and San Francisco spot markets are trading at 50+ cent premiums to the NYMEX. We’ve yet to see such relief on the gasoline side of the barrel, and we likely won’t until the market switches to a higher RVP.