Top End Of Trading Range Tested

Market TalkWednesday, Nov 11 2020
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WTI and ULSD futures came close to reaching eight month highs overnight before sellers stepped in, cutting back the gains nearly in half for the day in the past couple of hours. This test of the top end of the trading range that’s held prices since June should be pivotal for price action through the end of year that can’t seem to end fast enough.  

Bullish supply data from the API and DOE are getting credit for the early strength, adding to the rally built earlier this week on hopes of a demand recovery once the new vaccine can put COVID economic destruction in the rear-view-mirror.  

If the top side of the trading range breaks, there’s an easy 10-20 cents of upside potential for refined products, and we could see WTI pushing towards $50/ barrel in short order. If the chart resistance can continue to repel this rally however, we may be due for another pullback and an extension of the sideways trading.

The API reported large inventory draws across the board last week with oil stocks down 5.1 million barrels, diesel down 5.6 million barrels and gasoline stocks down 3.3 million barrels.  The DOE weekly report will be released tomorrow since the U.S. is celebrating Veteran’s Day today. OPEC’s monthly report is due out later this morning, and the IEA’s monthly report will be released tomorrow. 

The DOE/EIA’s monthly Short Term Energy Outlook had much more of the same uncertainty surrounding COVID and its impact on fuel demand and prices. The government’s energy reporting agency (via the company it hires to provide forecasting, that also sells pricing subscription services) was forecasting that Brent crude prices will hover around $40 for the remainder of this year before averaging $47 next year, which suggests the report was written prior to Monday’s vaccine announcement which has Brent already close to $45. One interesting and unusual item noted in this month’s report was the extraordinary put-call ratio in RBOB gasoline for next spring, suggesting that perhaps…“market participants are hedging against a potential continuation of economic effects of COVID-19 into the 2021 summer driving season.”    

The report also highlights a big drawdown in distillate inventories, which had their largest monthly decline in nearly a decade. A combination of factors such as refinery downtime both planned for fall turnarounds and unplanned due to storms, along with a higher than normal starting balance and sharp recovery in demand all contributed to those inventory declines. While several regional markets in the Western half of the country are seeing tight rack supplies of diesel as a result of this, overall refinery margins have not yet recovered much and remain at about half of the levels we came to expect pre-COVID.   

Eta regained hurricane strength this morning, but its forecasted path has shifted back to the east, and it’s now expected to make landfall north of Tampa tomorrow afternoon. The shift keeps the storm away from oil production and refining assets in the gulf coast, and given its relative lack of strength, it should not be a major supply disrupter, although Tampa Bay port operations may be delayed for a couple of days. The new path also gives the storm yet another chance to reform over open water as it should reach the Atlantic sometime Friday.

Meanwhile, the 30th named storm of the season now has 80% odds of developing in the Caribbean in the next five days. 

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Market TalkThursday, Mar 28 2024

Energy Markets Are Ticking Modestly Higher Heading Into The Easter Weekend With Crude Oil Prices Leading The Way Up About $1.25/Barrel Early Thursday Morning

Energy markets are ticking modestly higher heading into the Easter Weekend with crude oil prices leading the way up about $1.25/barrel early Thursday morning, while gasoline prices are up around 2.5 cents and ULSD futures are about a penny.

Today is the last trading day for April HO and RBOB futures, an unusually early expiration due to the month ending on a holiday weekend. None of the pricing agencies will be active tomorrow since the NYMEX and ICE contracts are completely shut, so most rack prices published tonight will carry through Monday.

Gasoline inventories broke from tradition and snapped a 7 week decline as Gulf Coast supplies increased, more than offsetting the declines in PADDs 1, 2 and 5. With gulf coast refiners returning from maintenance and cranking out summer grade gasoline, the race is now officially on to move their excess through the rest of the country before the terminal and retail deadlines in the next two months. While PADD 3 run rates recover, PADD 2 is expected to see rates decline in the coming weeks with 2 Chicago-area refineries scheduled for planned maintenance, just a couple of weeks after BP returned from 7 weeks of unplanned repairs.

Although terminal supplies appear to be ample around the Baltimore area, we have seen linespace values for shipping gasoline on Colonial tick higher in the wake of the tragic bridge collapse as some traders seem to be making a small bet that the lack of supplemental barge resupply may keep inventories tight until the barge traffic can move once again. The only notable threat to refined product supplies is from ethanol barge traffic which will need to be replaced by truck and rail options, but so far that doesn’t seem to be impacting availability at the rack. Colonial did announce that they would delay the closure of its underutilized Baltimore north line segment that was scheduled for April 1 to May 1 out of an “abundance of caution”.

Ethanol inventories reached a 1-year high last week as output continues to hold above the seasonal range as ethanol distillers seem to be betting that expanded use of E15 blends will be enough to offset sluggish gasoline demand. A Bloomberg article this morning also highlights why soybeans are beginning to displace corn in the subsidized food to fuel race.

Flint Hills reported a Tuesday fire at its Corpus Christi West facility Wednesday, although it’s unclear if that event will have a material impact on output after an FCC unit was “stabilized” during the fire. While that facility isn’t connected to Colonial, and thus doesn’t tend to have an impact on USGC spot pricing, it is a key supplier to the San Antonio, Austin and DFW markets, so any downtime may be felt at those racks.

Meanwhile, P66 reported ongoing flaring at its Borger TX refinery due to an unknown cause. That facility narrowly avoided the worst wildfires in state history a few weeks ago but is one of the frequent fliers on the TCEQ program with upsets fairly common in recent years.

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

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Most Energy Contracts Are Ticking Lower For A 2nd Day After A Trickle Of Selling Picked Up Steam Tuesday

Most energy contracts are ticking lower for a 2nd day after a trickle of selling picked up steam Tuesday. ULSD futures are down a dime from Monday’s highs and RBOB futures are down 7 cents.

Diesel prices continue to look like the weak link in the energy chain, with futures coming within 1 point of their March lows overnight, setting up a test of the December lows around $2.48 if that resistance breaks down. Despite yesterday’s slide, RBOB futures still look bullish on the weekly charts, with a run towards the $3 mark still looking like a strong possibility in the next month or so.

The API reported crude stocks increased by more than 9 million barrels last week, while distillates were up 531,000 and gasoline stocks continued their seasonal decline falling by 4.4 million barrels. The DOE’s weekly report is due out at its normal time this morning.

RIN values have recovered to their highest levels in 2 months around $.59/RIN for D4 and D6 RINs, even though the recovery rally in corn and soybean prices that had helped lift prices off of the 4 year lows set in February has stalled out. Expectations for more biofuel production to be shut in due to weak economics with lower subsidy values seems to be encouraging the tick higher in recent weeks, although prices are still about $1/RIN lower than this time last year.

Reminder that Friday is one of only 3 annual holidays in which the Nymex is completely shut, so no prices will be published, but it’s not a federal holiday in the US so banks will be open.

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