Energy Markets Are Continuing To Rally After A Strong Push Higher Wednesday Sent Gasoline Futures To A 6-Month High

Energy markets are continuing to rally after a strong push higher Wednesday sent gasoline futures to a 6-month high. Yesterday’s news of multiple attacks on Russian refineries had the buyers out early, and the DOE’s weekly status report added a boost to the gasoline rally, even though the report shows that the supply/demand balance is very different by product and by region.

While the DOE’s gasoline headline numbers were quite bullish, and the market reacted accordingly following the report, a look at the inventory charts below suggests we’re really just following the typical pattern of steadily drawing down stocks ahead of the spring RVP change. The DOE’s estimates showed an increase in gasoline demand for a 4th straight week, which keeps consumption right around the 5-year average for this time of year.

The USGC saw a large increase in diesel stocks last week, which helped offset another decline in PADD 3 inventories, which was foreshadowed by weaker diesel basis values over the past week.

Worst to first: After several months of being the cheapest in the country, Chicago ULSD is now tied for the most expensive nationwide as the struggle to bring BP whiting fully back online continues, which helped draw down PADD 2 diesel inventories for a 6th straight week.

While PADD 4 remains a rounding error and doesn’t really impact any futures or spot markets in a meaningful way, there does appear to be a potential diesel containment issue brewing for the Rocky Mountain region, with inventories rapidly approaching record high levels, likely in part due to the influx of renewables on the West Coast taking away one of their outlets. Several of the remaining small refiners in the region have been on the chopping block for years and this latest glut of supply will further complicate their economics.

The IEA increased its oil demand forecast in its monthly report, reluctantly following the lead of the OPEC and EIA monthly estimates, in large part due to the resilience in US economic activity in recent months. The report noted that seaborne oil exports are at an all-time high due to the major shipping disruptions forcing tankers to take longer to make their runs.

Bad news for Citgo? A Reuters report says the first round of bidding in the company’s auction didn’t go as well as hoped (almost as though bidders didn’t want to end up in years of legal battles if awarded) which suggests the courts may have to revamp the sale process that’s been going nowhere for years.

More refinery trouble? 4 different Texas facilities reported upsets to the TCEQ in the past 24 hours. P66 Borger dodged the wildfires last week, but reported 5 different flares were triggered yesterday, suggesting a multi-unit upset that could tighten up supplies stretching from the Panhandle to New Mexico. Meanwhile, Flint Hills Corpus Christi East plant and Exxon Beaumont’s chemical plant both reported brief upsets while Marathon’s Galveston Bay facility made its seemingly obligatory weekly flaring notice.

The recovery rally in RIN values continues, with both D4 and D6 prices trading north of the 50 cent mark Wednesday for the first time in a month. Recovering corn and soybean prices, which are boosting ethanol and bio prices, all seem to be contributing after all of those contracts reached multi-year lows in February.

Trouble in LaLa Land? California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices fell by the most in 2 years Wednesday after the auction for Washington state’s made-up-carbon-credit program settled at half of the value of the December price auction, amidst concerns that program will be voted out of existence in November. While noteworthy, that drop in CCA prices only reduces the cost/gallon for consumers on the CCA line item fee (don’t call it a tax) by 1.5-2 cents from around 31.5 cents/gallon for California gasoline and 40 cents/diesel Tuesday night to 29 and 38 respectively today. The drop in Washington’s prices will be more dramatic, but since the auction values just posted yesterday, they’ll need another day to hit the racks, with just a 3-4 cent reduction witnessed so far.

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