Market Commentary
Tensions with Iran rise as U.S. imposes new sanctions
June 25, 2019
There are a lot of headlines and comments about what’s happening in the Middle East. New sanctions on Iran, a visit to Saudi Arabia by Vice President Pence, Iran’s response to the US about sanctions and all other matters. The Middle East is always a wild card for the energy […]
Trump threatens new sanctions on Iran
June 24, 2019
Friday’s big move in the energy markets was driven by the explosion and fire at Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery early in the morning. The refinery processes 335,000 barrels of crude oil every day at two plants in the complex, Girard Point and Point Breeze. This fire and explosion caused an […]
Pennsylvania refinery fire juices energy market
June 21, 2019
Energy Solutions refinery in Philadelphia had an explosion early this morning and fire. This has juiced the energy market up as traders cover positions as a reaction the news. It is Friday and uncertainty about the damage and impact to this refinery could mean a scramble to get gallons so […]
President Trump Tweets at OPEC
March 29, 2019
The energy market has a very strong selloff in early trading yesterday. The reason is possibly two fold but the main driver that is getting attention is a tweet. President Trump again tweeted at OPEC that prices were getting too high. The President’s Tweet: “Very Important that OPEC increase the […]
China’s Exports Dropped 20% in February
March 8, 2019
China’s exports dropped 20.7% in February as seasonal factory shutdowns and continued uncertainty from the trade war combined to drag on shipments, adding to concerns over a weakening global economy. German factor orders dropped 2.6% in January, where a gain had been expected, with the fall caused by weak demand […]
Building crude stocks leave the market mixed
March 7, 2019
The DOE inventory report said that crude oil stocks were up a big 7.069 million barrels. Cushing, Ok crude oil stocks were up 873,000 barrels. Gasoline stocks were down 4.227 million barrels and distillate stocks were down 2.393 million barrels. Refinery Runs were up 0.4% to 87.5% of capacity. The […]
API Reports a Big Increase in Crude Stocks
March 6, 2019
The API reported a big increase in crude oil stocks of 7.3 million barrels. The market is expecting the DOE report today to show a 1.2 million barrel increase. Gasoline stocks were down 391,000 barrels and the outlook for today’s report is a decline of 2.01 million barrels. Distillate stocks […]
EPA Advances Proposal for Year-Round E15 Sales
March 5, 2019
White House economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, said that US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, has made progress in talks with China and a deal was possible to end a dispute that has already put tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of goods. The Wall Street Journal reported that US […]
China Skipped U.S. Crude Purchases
February 27, 2019
The inventory update from the private firm API called crude stocks down 4.2 million barrels. Gasoline stocks were reported down 3.9 million barrels and distillates were up 394,000 barrels. The crude oil stocks at Cushing, Ok were up 2.0 million barrels. The estimates for today’s DOE report from the Reuters […]