ULSD Prices Down Almost 14 Cents On The Day After Being Up Nearly A Nickel Overnight

Market TalkFriday, Mar 25 2022
Pivotal Week For Price Action

Energy futures saw a heavy wave of selling in the past hour that had ULSD prices down almost 14 cents on the day after being up nearly a nickel overnight, while RBOB prices dropped a dime from their overnight highs. But, as has come to be the March norm, if you don’t like those prices just wait 15 minutes and they’ll change.  

Prior to this morning it had been another strong week for most petroleum contracts, and so far the wave of selling (and subsequent bounce) hasn’t threatened any trend-lines, so it’s too soon to say this is anything more than a brief pullback. 

There are 5 more trading days for the April ULSD contract, which has already smashed the all-time record for highest price, and has now broken the record for the largest single month timing spread, trading 37 cents over the May contract earlier today. That extreme backwardation continues to wreak havoc on basis markets around the country, with some regions seeing record lows, while others are seeing record highs, depending on which side of that HO curve they’re trading.

promise to ship more US LNG to Europe is getting the headlines, but really it’s more likely the lack of European sanctions on Russian energy that are contributing the selloff, as the actual capacity for more LNG shipments in the near term are limited. 

Why are LNG shipments limited when the US has so much natural gas and has been expanding its export capabilities for years?  The main reason is those LNG export facilities were already at or near capacity, as they signed long-term commitments with buyers in order to ensure the multi-billion dollar investments needed would pay off, and then a distant second because the FERC recently decided to make the process for approving new natural gas pipeline systems extremely challenging to protect the environment, which makes some yearn for the days of The Big Inch.

The US charged 4 Russian Government officials for hacking operations targeting US energy facilities and a Saudi oil refinery from 2012-2018.  The timing of the charges is no doubt intended to add pressure to Russia, and to US companies that have been warned repeatedly of the potential for cyberattacks. Anyone in the refined products industry shouldn’t need a reminder of that threat as we approach the 1 year anniversary of the Colonial pipeline shutdown. 

Meanwhile, in other refinery news, unconfirmed reports this week have surfaced that Russian forces accidentally bombed their own oil refinery this week, in what would be a nice bit of karma to end the week with, if it’s true.

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

Market Talk Update 3.25.22

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Pivotal Week For Price Action
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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Market TalkWednesday, Mar 27 2024

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Pivotal Week For Price Action
Market TalkWednesday, Mar 27 2024

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.