Potential for Rail Strikes Linger as Unions Reject Proposed Deals
November 22, 2022
US crude oil inventories decreased by 5.4 million barrels last week and are now 4% below the five-year average. Gasoline inventories increased by 2.2 million barrels last week and are now 5% below the five-year average. Distillate inventories increased by 1.1 million barrels last week and are now 15% below the five-year average. Propane inventories increased by 100,000 barrels and now sit at 7% above the five-year average.
The market was selling off early yesterday on reports that OPEC was considering increasing production at the next OPEC meeting. Mid-day OPEC came out and said this wasn’t true and prices rallied back to nearly unchanged. Crude oil, Gasoline, and ULSD all had big trading ranges and that this the danger of limited traders working during a Holiday week.
Workers at the largest US rail union voted against a tentative contract deal reached in September raising the possibility of a strike in the coming weeks that could cause significant damage to the US economy.
The average gas price declined to $3.64 per gallon, falling 11.9 cents on Monday compared to the week before, according to GasBuddy, which forecast a new record high gas price on Thanksgiving Day.