Iranian Nuclear Talks End with No Progress
December 9, 2021
The DOE numbers had crude oil inventories down 241,000 barrels and Cushing, Ok crude stocks were up 2.373 million barrels. Gasoline stocks were up 3.882 million barrels and distillates were up 2.733 million barrels. Inventory levels are still on the lower side of the 5-year averages and overall that is still a concern.
Overall, the inventory report was seen a neutral. Some traders were given it a little more credit today as being bearish and the reason for some early selling pressure. The energy markets are pretty flat so far today as the momentum has slowed.
Propane inventories are up by 612,000 barrels. The Midwest stocks were down 696,000 barrels and the Gulf Coast inventories were up 932,000 barrels. The propane market needs weather and until the temperature changes, the price will be stuck.
The Iran nuclear talks have ended with no progress. It looks like a new approach may be needed. This has two impacts. One is that Iranian barrels are not legally coming to the market anytime soon. The second item is will one of the new approaches involve some type of military action. To me, this seems unlikely, but it has gotten some coverage in the press. Of course, that would very likely include a risk premium being added to the market as that could impact a lot of dynamics in the Middle East.
The other factor helping to support prices is the fact that there are fewer concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and its impact on the global economy and demand.