Market Commentary
White House Economic Advisor Warns Against More Viral Lockdowns
July 9, 2020
The inventory report had crude oil stocks up 5.65 million barrels and the stocks at Cushing, Ok were up 2.21 million barrels. The build in crude was helped by crude imports being up 1.425 million bpd to a total of 9.975 million barrels. Gasoline stocks were down 4.84 million barrels […]
European Commission Forecasts Record Economic Contraction in 2021
July 8, 2020
The API inventory report had crude oil stocks up 2 million barrels and the stocks at Cushing were up 2.2 million barrels. Gasoline stocks were down 1.8 million barrels and distillate stocks were down 900,000 barrels. Average estimates for today’s DOE inventory update from the Bloomberg survey are looking for […]
Court Orders Dakota Access Oil Pipeline to Shutdown
July 7, 2020
A US District Court ordered Energy transfer LP to shut and empty the Dakota Access Transfer’s 570,000 bpd Dakota Access oil pipeline within 30 days. This pipeline transports oil out of North Dakota’s Bakken shale basin to refineries in Eastern Illinois. This will force more crude to rail out of […]
Crude Stockpiles to Anchor Pricing Through Year End
July 6, 2020
Crude oil and refined fuel products rose by 2.1% to 3.5% on Thursday, with RBOB gasoline leading the way up by 3.5% and WTI crude oil rising the least by 2.1%. the rise in prices was mainly due to a much better than expected jobs report for June, a drop […]
DOE Report: Crude Stocks in Cushing Are Down
July 2, 2020
The DOE inventory report from the government called crude oil stocks down a big 7.195 million barrels and the crude stocks at Cushing, Ok were down 263,000 barrels. The big draw continues to support crude oil above the critical $40 dollar level. Gasoline stocks were up 1.199 million barrels and […]
WHO Says “Worst is Yet to Come”
June 30, 2020
Crude oil and refined fuel product prices rose yesterday, mainly driven by signs of recovery in world economies and consumption. The oil rig count in the United States is very low and U.S. shale production keeps falling. Keeping prices from rallying higher are the continued concerns about Unites States fuel […]
Chesapeake Energy Files for Bankruptcy
June 29, 2020
The Baker Hughes rig count was down one oil rig on Friday. The total number of rigs looking for crude oil now stands at 188, down from 793 at this time last year. Bearish Signals The Labor Department reported last Thursday that 1.5 million Americans filed jobless claims. This brings […]
Oil Producers Grapple With Low Prices
June 26, 2020
Occidental Petroleum is preparing to write down up to $9 billion of its oil and gas properties this quarter. The move will allow Occidental Petroleum to restructure its debt and avoid default. The purchase of Anadarko Petroleum required Occidental Petroleum to take on additional debt. Sable Petroleum Resources has filed […]
Viral Cases Climb as Supplies Decrease
June 25, 2020
The energy market is juggling information about declining supplies and rising COVID-19 cases. Traders are trying to decipher how do these issues will play out and the outlook for energy supply and demand. Mercuria’s Chief Executive, Marco Dunand, sees the oil market in deficit by July with stock draws reaching […]
Trade Issues Put Market Under Tension
June 24, 2020
Crude oil and refined fuel product prices closed lower yesterday after hitting the highest point since March 6. Prices are under pressure this morning as trade tension put some uncertainty into the recovery of the global economy. Trade issues could derail the improvement of the U.S. and Chinese economies, which […]
White House Advisor Navarro Casts Doubt on US-China Trade Deal
June 23, 2020
The outlook remains positive and there’s data that continues to keep energy prices on track to move higher. The reports I’m seeing show supplies are tightening, but I still struggle with the numbers that show a glut of stocks in the United States. Price were higher yesterday as global oil […]
Backwardation Tightens Supply
June 22, 2020
Baker Hughes reports oil rig counts are down 10, putting total oil rigs at 189. That’s 600 fewer than last year for this reporting week. The news on the energy front was quiet over the weekend and remains so as we start the new week. One of the themes I’m […]