Energy Market Updates

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CRUDE

Crude Inventory Build Overshadows Finished Product Decline

The large Crude inventory build yesterday overshadowed the decline in finished products and took the floor out of pricing yesterday.  Crude increased over 12 million barrels, largely due to the limited refinery activity in the past weeks.  Refineries are running at about 80% capacity due to maintenance, cold, and limited demand forecasts.  Fundamentals have pushed aside the risk premium in the last few days.  The Global conflict premium had shot diesel pricing up almost $.40 since the first of the year.  With distillate demand down about 10% compared to the same time last year, it makes refiners walk a tightrope on producing even with margins very high on distillates, in the $41 per barrel range currently.

As we all look towards not seeing anymore snow, Taylor Swift at football games, and cold temps, its important to know we are not done yet.  The next two weeks are often times when we get that arctic blast over a weekend making for a difficult Monday if you moved to a standard diesel too early.  Stay the course with your winterizing, DKB continues to stock and deliver winterized diesels.   Look for pricing to find its way back down over the next few weeks in much the same pattern we saw from September to January and hopefully we fall back another $.25 from here.

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Insights & Integrity: Rising Tensions & Refinery Challenges

Honesty and Integrity in all Dealings is not just a tag line for Dennis K. Burke, Inc, it is one of our Core Values as an Organization.  In a world that has become more and more competitive and polarizing, it is good to know that a true business relationships can still exist.  We strive to be transparent to our many Customers and non-Customer alike.  One of my weekly calls is from someone who is not even a Customer, but he is just simply looking for a new perspective or answer on a problem.    Which ties into another Core Value, a Commitment to Customer Service Excellence.  In my mind, a Customer is not defined as someone with an open account at DKB, it is more of anyone that I can assist or help out, in this often times crazy business.  (many of you have received a note from me with an introduction to someone who you can help out) Partly the reason for these updates is letting you know what is happening, insight in to what may be coming, and keeping an open line of communication.

At this time last week we thought we had a nice correction going on with diesel futures.  However, with rising tensions abroad, we are right back to where we were a week ago.  It is getting increasingly difficult to even sort out the players in the Middle East conflict, which has added to the overall risk premium in the fuel market.  At home, a cold snap and torrential rains has limited refiners operating capacity of late, they are down about 5% from last year.  This was evident in the inventory report that showed increases in Crude and decreases in finished products.  Total gas and diesel demand is still about 1.5% lower than last year at this time.  Look to be stuck in this range for the next week or two as refiners come back on line and demand starts to pick up.

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The Market Giveth and the Market Taketh - Winter is Coming

We had a nice $.10 pullback going from Friday to Tuesday, but the market giveth and the market taketh. After another 2.2-million-barrel draw in crude inventories posted this week, the entire complex moved higher even with gas and diesel showing slight increases.  Furthermore, product demand showed down again year over year by about 5%.  A fair amount of talk and politicizing of a looming Government shutdown will have on financial markets and heavily regulated industries like air travel.  All providing support to pricing.  Still, it looks as though we may have topped out in the last few weeks as we move into the winter season. 
 
I know it's tough to think about winter right now, but it’s coming.  It’s widely agreed that we have moved back into an El Nino weather pattern, which for the Northeast means typically more snow and very cold January and February (good time to get fillports, ladders, and access to tanks colored, cleaned and repaired).   Looking into winter months, some may be challenged on many fronts.  It looks as though security of demand is the key factor in security of supply.  With pricing still sharply backwards, you may find some suppliers not willing to bring in excess gallons or niche product such as Kero, that are not already spoken for.  Have conversations now and be sure you and your supplier are on the same page.  DKB is acutely aware of our customers' needs and as in years past, have your needs first. As always, feel free to reach out. (You can reach out by phone, or schedule a call at a good time for you using this link:  Schedule a Call )
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Thank you Cpt. Obvious, Banks Say Lower Production Means Higher Prices

Coming off the Monday Holiday, prices surged higher Tuesday as OPEC+ heavyweights Russia and Saudi Arabia confirmed they would extend voluntary production cuts through the end of the year.  Fueling the rise from the Cpt. Obvious department, big banks publish reports to expect $107 Crude if cuts maintain.  Buy the rumor, sell the fact.  Diesel had a nice sell off going, but remember, one day doesn’t reverse the trend.  Wednesdays intraday action erased almost all of the gains only to settle down slightly.  While we still sit almost $1 higher in pricing than the beginning of the Summer, you would have to think better days are to come.  Current JUNE 24 Diesel future pricing is $.45 less than front month October 23. 

For the here and now, we all know $1 a gallon increase cuts into your bottom line significantly, many large airlines have started to float it out there not to expect good earnings due to higher fuel costs.  We can assist you in leveling out those spikes based on your specific needs.  Inventory numbers due out later today, delayed from the holiday, should give short term direction of pricing.  Even if modest drops are reported, I would expect to see the downward trend continue for diesel.  Gasoline is still disjointed from Diesel as it is starting to go into it’s seasonal specification switch which tends to push pricing down.  Timing is important in the fuel world, having an open line of communication with your supplier is vital. If you want to schedule a meeting to discuss your specific needs or questions, you can do so here: Schedule a Meeting

 

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July Rally Continues into August

Starting off this week it appeared that we may have seen the top of the recent rally in the Commodity sector.  That changed Tuesday morning as the EIA released a guidance report that they expect US crude production to increase an additional 200,000 barrels per day based on….. yep, higher prices.  This fueled the indexes in a self-fulling prophecy sort of way and turned around what was a $.05 down day to a $.07 up day.  The buying carried over to Wednesday as the inventory report showed a solid increase in crude stocks with the products showing losses.  Key note on the crude gains is that it looks to be largely due to slashing exports.  Something we have been saying might be a prudent step for a while now.  Distillates are now $.80 higher than July 1st, erasing the steady 8 month decline that we have enjoyed.  Sentiment is fixated on Saudi led OPEC cuts and appears to shrug off any fundamental data.  It’s almost like mob mentality really.  Crude builds, soft demand, economic uncertainty, should all push prices lower. 

As someone once told me “high prices are the cure for high prices” and it is hard to see this rally continue.  Backwardation remains with both gas and diesel, you could see end of month outages.  A supplier dedicated to the Commercial End User is definitely someone to have in your foxhole during these times.  Again, I always enjoy speaking specifically about your needs, please do not hesitate to schedule a quick talk below.

Schedule a Meeting

 

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Inventories & Gulf Storm threat push NYMEX higher

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Crude slipped past the looming $60/bbl benchmark this afternoon, as pricing surged over $2/bbl (~4%). Prices have been largely supported the past several weeks by looming Iranian-US tensions and price level support from the continuing OPEC+ production cuts.

Today's surge was the result of the perfect storm of, well, an actual storm, and unexpectedly high Crude inventory draws announced by the EIA. 

This morning several major oil producers announced they were beginning evacuations of rigs and halting areas of production along the Gulf of Mexico ahead of an impending tropical storm expected Thursday into Friday. (According to CNBC, who has a fantastic piece being continually updated with info on everything happening in the Gulf & the market impacts that you can read here: CNBC )

The EIA Inventory report this morning showed Crude draws of 9.5mmb, well above the anticipated levels (expectations were that draws would be around the 3mmb range, so they came in at over triple expectations, essentially). Gasoline drew down 1.5mmb, and distillates showed builds of 3.7mmb. Those distillate builds did little to slow the across the board impacts this afternoon, and refined products closed up right along side Crude. 

At the close, Crude closed out at 60.43, ULSD was up +.0804 to $1.9910 and gas settled up +.0783 to $2.0052

 

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OPEC Concerns Trump EIA Numbers to Drop Crude Prices

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Oil was down today as the market weighed out OPEC speculation on one hand, and a drop in US Crude inventories on the other.

OPEC concerns seem to have won the day, given the drop in the face of an EIA report indicating a 3.4mmb drop (projections were 2.3mmb drop), some of which is presumably attributable to the Keystone pipeline leak & subsequent supply diversions.

Refined products showed builds of 2.7mmb on distillates, 3.6 mmb on gas. (projections were 230K and 1.3mmb, respectively).

OPEC is set to meet tommorow (Thursday) in Vienna to discuss extending production cuts through the end of 2018. 

The current deal keeps 1.8mmb/day off the global markets via production cuts, and is set to expire in March but a new agreement would extend it through December. The running assumption was that it would be a no brainer to extend, but surprise, surprise, a few days out from the meeting and Russia had not yet agreed on anything. Thoughts are they may argue for a shorter agreement or push for renegotiation closer to the March expiration.

What does this all mean?

The assumption in the market currently has been that the OPEC deal extension is essentially "priced in" already. What that means is that failing a 9 month extension, we could see the recent gains evaporate rather quickly and see crude prices dip, with WTI falling back at or below the $50 benchmark, or even lower than that if there is no deal at all. 

From OPEC/Russia's side of the aisle, an agreement on production cut extension to bolster pricing may be met with continued increase in US domestic production, which could both offset gains and damage their market share in the long view. That position is somewhat supported by rebounding US production levels & refinery utilization rates. 

Last week we saw WTI close out at a high of $58.02, but it has receeded over the past few sessions, closing today out at $57.30. ULSD & RBOB tumbled today as well, with ULSD dropping .0286 to 1.9221 and RBOB dropping .0411 to 1.7309. 

Stay tuned!

 

 

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EIA Draws Keep NYMEX Boosted; Venezuelan Vote & Sanctions Loom

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Today, the NYMEX continued it's winning streak - At the end of the day, we settled up across the board yet again, with Crude settling out at $48.75/bbl (+1.7%), ULSD climbed +.0268 to $1.5953 and RBOB edged up +.02111 to $1.6173. 

Yesterday we talked about the OPEC production & export factors affecting the market, as well as projected slow downs in domestic oil & gas exploration. (For a refresher, you can peruse yesterdays article here: 2017s Largest One Day Rally Hits on OPEC & US Production Projections ) 

Today, while API projections called for a 10.23mmb draw in Crude, the EIA Inventory Report showed an actual draw of 7.2mmb. Current Crude levels are now around 483.4 mmb, or the upper end of average for this time of year. For finished products, distillates drew down 1.9mmb but are still on the upper end of what we normally see for average levels, while on gasoline, projections were calling for a build of 1.9mmb but actuals showed a draw of 1mmb. 

In broader news that can potentially have huge ("YUGE!") market impacts, the Trump administration has floated the possibility of a ban on Venezuelan Crude as a U.S. response to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, should he choose to go forward with rewriting the country's constitution, in what the United States sees as a move to clamp down on opposition. The vote on rewriting the country's constitution is expected Sunday, and Platts is reporting that the U.S. Treasury department is crafting sanctions currently. 

At the same time however, even as the Treasury works out the details, it appears the Administration has already backed off of the idea after looking at its potential impacts. They are now hinting at more targeted sanctions than an overall ban, but that would still likely create some serious aftershocks in the market.

Venezuela is the third largest supplier of imported Crude oil to the United States (after Canada and Saudi Arabia), and supplies a huge percentage of the Crude refined in the Gulf Coast.

A ban could be devastating for US refiners and importers, and even simply not taking the option off the table could impact the markets in a drastic way over the next few days, particularly if the option remains even theoretically possible on Monday after the vote takes place (its expected to be a "show vote" with Maduro's desired outcome essentially 100% certain).

Definitely something to keep an eye on that could drastically change the supply and pricing picture as we know it.

Stay tuned!  

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2017s Largest Rally Hits on OPEC & US Production Projections

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Today saw oil prices have the biggest one day rally of 2017 thus far, with WTI Crude surging up 3.3% ($1.55) to settle out at $47.89/bbl. Likewise, refined products surged, with ULSD jumping over 5 cents (+.0516) to 1.5685, and gasoline jumped +.0394 to settle at 1.5962.

So whats going on?

On the global news front, at an OPEC gathering in Russia on Monday, Saudi Arabia pledged to cut Crude exports beginning in August, and Nigeria stated it will cap its production at 1.8 million barrels per day. (WTI closed out up 1.3% at $46.34 on the day Monday immediately following the news. ULSD settled up as well but by a mere 17 points to $1.5169, while gasoline dropped 65 points to close out at $1.5568.)

An important note pointed out by Market Watch regarding the OPEC news, however - its not unusual for the Saudis to drop exports this time of year, and the "cuts" promised by Nigeria are actually at levels higher than they are producing at the moment (they will cap at 1.8mmb and they are currently producing 1.6mmb) so its likely that this news was another somewhat nothing-to-it story out of OPEC that caused a (presumably temporary) jump on the NYMEX, as most OPEC meetings seem to do. 

Today was likely impacted more from domestic news and forecasts than the OPEC news of yesterday. Cuts are looming in the Oil & Gas sector in the U.S., which signals an oncoming slow down in domestic output. Anadarko, one the nations leading oil & gas exploration companies cut investment guidance by $300 million for 2017 after posting losses for the second quarter of over $415 million, or roughly twice estimates. Add this to Halliburton's forecasts for flat to declining rig counts, and projected crude draws on this weeks EIA reporting and you had the perfect storm in place for todays rally. 

 

 

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Dramatic Inventory Drawdowns Pump Up Prices

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Crude jumped on today’s inventory report after jumping up on the overnights last night as well. Post close yesterday, the API numbers were indicating significant draws and the EIA release backed that projection up.
The EIA report this morning indicated that Crude inventories dropped by 14.5 million barrels for last week, which is the biggest drop we’ve seen this millennium (since 1999).
Analysts are partly blaming the effects of Hermine on the Gulf Coast delaying production and explaining the draw down in stocks.  
Gasoline stocks also dropped, by 4.5 million barrels, and also unexpectedly.
Today closed out up across the board, with diesel up .0557 to $1.4822, Gas up .0701 to $1.4165 and Crude closing out at $47.62. (significantly up from yesterday’s Crude settle of $45.50)
An interesting aside on gasoline’s jump today was that the lowest Labor Day retail gasoline prices in 12 years were seen this past weekend, and if you jump online there are literally dozens of articles projecting that the post summer driving season price levels for gasoline will drop below $2 per gallon. It’s more likely than not that these articles are correct versus today’s inventory and price rebound. Nothing has changed fundamentally with either Crude or gasoline in terms of long term supply and demand outlooks (despite some new rumblings about Russia and Saudi Arabia, as usual).

Stay tuned!

 

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