Diesel Prices Are Trying To Drag The Rest Of The Energy Complex Higher This Morning
Diesel prices are trying to drag the rest of the energy complex higher this morning as their weekly rally has now surpassed 40 cents in less than 4 days. Gasoline prices are resisting the pull higher so far, despite some positive demand signals in yesterday’s DOE report, and remain range-bound for now, while WTI is facing a big test near $100.
We said yesterday morning that the ULSD contract looked like it was ready to make a run at $3.80 after breaking through resistance on the charts around $3.60 and it didn’t waste any time already reaching that mark this morning. The last time ULSD touched $3.80 3 weeks ago, it dropped 20 cents the next day, so today’s tug of war with gasoline could prove pivotal. A break and hold above $3.80 opens the door for another 40 cent run higher for diesel, while a failure sets up a drop to the lower end of the July trading range.
All sorts of news out of Washington that may influence markets as the Senate has made a surprise breakthrough on a bill that includes nearly $370 billion in energy and climate change programs, while the commerce department just reported it’s GDP estimate showing the US is now “not officially” in a recession with a 2nd straight quarter of contracting GDP.
Bad news is good news when it comes to the stock market reaction to FED policy, and it seems like the Chairman’s statement that the US economy shows signs of slowing yesterday was enough to send stocks rallying once again, as it implies that the pace of increase for interest rates is going to slow down after their largest increase in over 40 years. The big rally in stocks following that announcement seemed to spill over to the energy arena in the afternoon, but could also create more volatility if today’s confirmation of that economic slowdown sends the big money funds to the sidelines.
If you’re an energy bull, you may note that we’ve already lived through the recession, and yet yesterday’s DOE report showed a healthy recovery in fuel consumption which could mean the worst is behind us…not to mention that the world still doesn’t have a solution to replace Russian natural gas and distillate supplies.
Notes from yesterday’s DOE Report:
US crude oil exports surged to an all-time high last week north of 4.5 million barrels per day. That means a total of roughly 32 million barrels of oil (more than 1.3 billion gallons) were sent overseas last week, which makes the inventory drop of 4.5 million barrels in total for the week suddenly less impressive.
Refinery output dropped for a 2nd straight week, with 4 out of 4 PADDs declining, with the Midwest (PADD 2) leading the way with another major decline in run rates. Given the weakness in Group 3 and Chicago basis values, it doesn’t seem like anyone is worried about declining output in the middle of the country - most of which is unable to be exported – although this could spell trouble in the fall if rates don’t pick back up as Gulf Coast facilities seem to have their hands full trying to keep up with demand from Europe and the rest of the Americas.
Demand for gasoline and distillates were estimated to have climbed for a 2nd straight week putting both products back close to their seasonal 5 year averages after dropping below their seasonal range earlier in July. A big drop in gasoline imports, and the decline in refinery run rates are combining with that tick higher in demand to draw inventories lower after more than a month of gains.
The inventory declines are most pronounced on the East Coast, which helps explain why RFG gasoline in New York is worth 50 cents more per gallon today than it is in Houston, and nearly 70 cents more than its conventional counterparts in the Midwest.
See charts below.
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The Recovery Rally In Energy Markets Continues For A 3rd Day
The recovery rally in energy markets continues for a 3rd day with refined product futures both up more than a dime off of the multi-month lows we saw Wednesday morning. The DJIA broke 40,000 for the first time ever Thursday, and while it pulled back yesterday, US equity futures are suggesting the market will open north of that mark this morning, adding to the sends of optimism in the market.
Despite the bounce in the back half of the week, the weekly charts for both RBOB and ULSD are still painting a bearish outlook with a lower high and lower low set this week unless the early rally this morning can pick up steam in the afternoon. It does seem like the cycle of liquidation from hedge funds has ended however, so it would appear to be less likely that we’ll see another test of technical support near term after this bounce.
Ukraine hit another Russian refinery with a drone strike overnight, sparking a fire at Rosneft’s 240mb/day Tuapse facility on the black sea. That plant was one of the first to be struck by Ukrainian drones back in January and had just completed repairs from that strike in April. The attack was just one part of the largest drone attack to date on Russian energy infrastructure overnight, with more than 100 drones targeting power plants, fuel terminals and two different ports on the Black Sea. I guess that means Ukraine continues to politely ignore the White House request to stop blowing up energy infrastructure in Russia.
Elsewhere in the world where lots of things are being blown up: Several reports of a drone attack in Israel’s largest refining complex (just under 200kbd) made the rounds Thursday, although it remains unclear how much of that is propaganda by the attackers and if any impact was made on production.
The LA market had 2 different refinery upsets Thursday. Marathon reported an upset at the Carson section of its Los Angeles refinery in the morning (the Carson facility was combined with the Wilmington refinery in 2019 and now reports as a single unit to the state, but separately to the AQMD) and Chevron noted a “planned” flaring event Thursday afternoon. Diesel basis values in the region jumped 6 cents during the day. Chicago diesel basis also staged a recovery rally after differentials dropped past a 30 cent discount to futures earlier in the week, pushing wholesale values briefly below $2.10/gallon.
So far there haven’t been any reports of refinery disruptions from the severe weather than swept across the Houston area Thursday. Valero did report a weather-related upset at its Mckee refinery in the TX panhandle, although it appears they avoided having to take any units offline due to that event.
The Panama Canal Authority announced it was increasing its daily ship transit level to 31 from 24 as water levels in the region have recovered following more than a year of restrictions. That’s still lower than the 39 ships/day rate at the peak in 2021, but far better than the low of 18 ships per day that choked transit last year.
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Energy Prices Found A Temporary Floor After Hitting New Multi-Month Lows Wednesday
Energy prices found a temporary floor after hitting new multi-month lows Wednesday morning as a rally to record highs in US equity markets and a modestly bullish DOE report both seemed to encourage buyers to step back into the ring.
RBOB and ULSD futures both bounced more than 6 cents off of their morning lows, following a CPI report that eased inflation fears and boosted hopes for the stock market’s obsession of the FED cutting interest rates. Even though the correlation between energy prices and equities and currencies has been weak lately, the spillover effect on the bidding was clear from the timing of the moves Wednesday.
The DOE’s weekly report seemed to add to the optimism seen in equity markets as healthy increases in the government’s demand estimates kept product inventories from building despite increased refinery runs.
PADD 3 diesel stocks dropped after large increases in each of the past 3 weeks pushed inventories from the low end of their seasonal range to average levels. PADD 2 inventories remain well above average which helps explain the slump in mid-continent basis values over the past week. Diesel demand showed a nice recovery on the week and would actually be above the 5 year average if the 5% or so of US consumption that’s transitioned to RD was included in these figures.
Gasoline inventories are following typical seasonal patterns except on the West Coast where a surge in imports helped inventories recover for a 3rd straight week following April’s big basis rally.
Refiners for the most part are also following the seasonal script, ramping up output as we approach the peak driving demand season which unofficially kicks off in 10 days. PADD 2 refiners didn’t seem to be learning any lessons from last year’s basis collapse and rapidly increased run rates last week, which is another contributor to the weakness in midwestern cash markets. One difference this year for PADD 2 refiners is the new Transmountain pipeline system has eroded some of their buying advantage for Canadian crude grades, although those spreads so far haven’t shrunk as much as some had feared.
Meanwhile, wildfires are threatening Canada’s largest oil sands hub Ft. McMurray Alberta, and more than 6,000 people have been forced to evacuate the area. So far no production disruptions have been reported, but you may recall that fires in this region shut in more than 1 million barrels/day of production in 2016, which helped oil prices recover from their slump below $30/barrel.
California’s Air Resources Board announced it was indefinitely delaying its latest California Carbon Allowance (CCA) auction – in the middle of the auction - due to technical difficulties, with no word yet from the agency when bidders’ security payments will be returned, which is pretty much a nice microcosm for the entire Cap & Trade program those credits enable.