X

Market Close: April 22 MIXED, Diesel UP $.0250, Gas DN $.0155

Fueling Strategy: Please “FUEL AS NEEDED” today/tonight ~ Be Safe

NMEX Crude      $ 82.14 DN $.0800

NYMEX ULSD     $2.5756 UP $.0250

NYMEX Gas       $2.6679 DN $.0155

NEWS

May WTI crude oil on Monday closed down -0.08, and May RBOB gasoline closed down  -2.50. Crude and gasoline prices on Monday posted moderate losses, with gasoline falling to a 6-week low.  The main bearish factor for crude prices Monday was an easing of Israel-Iran tensions after it appeared that Iran would not respond following Israel’s retaliatory strike last Friday. In addition, the outlook for increased US crude production is bearish for prices after last Friday’s weekly report from Baker Hughes showed that active US oil rigs in the week ended April 19 rose by +5 rigs to a 7-month high of 511 rigs. The weakness in the crude crack spread is bearish for oil prices as the crack spread on Monday fell to a 2-month low.  The weaker crack spread discourages refiners from purchasing crude and refining it into gasoline and distillates. Reduced crude demand in India, the world’s third-largest crude consumer, is negative for oil prices after India’s March oil demand fell -0.6% y/y to 21.09 MMT.

Crude has support from the recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries that damaged several Russian oil processing facilities, limiting Russia’s fuel exporting capacity.  Russia’s fuel exports in the week to April 7 fell by -450,000 bpd from the prior week to 3.39 million bpd.  JPMorgan Chase said it sees 900,000 bpd of Russian refinery capacity that could be offline “for several weeks if not months” from the attacks, adding $4 a barrel of risk premium to oil prices.

Crude prices have support from April 3 when OPEC+, at its monthly meeting, did not recommend any changes to their existing crude output cuts, which kept about 2 million bpd of production cuts in place until the end of June.  However, OPEC crude production in March rose +10,000 bpd to 26.860 million bpd, a bearish factor for oil prices as Iraq and UAE continue to pump above their production quotas. A decrease in crude in floating storage is bullish for prices.  Monday’s weekly data from Vortexa showed that the amount of crude oil held worldwide on tankers that have been stationary for at least a week fell -18% w/w to 75.45 million bbl as of April 19.

Crude prices have underlying support from the Israel-Hamas war and concern that the war might spread to Hezbollah in Lebanon.  Also, attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi rebels have forced shippers to divert shipments around the southern tip of Africa instead of going through the Red Sea, disrupting global crude oil supplies. Last Wednesday’s EIA report showed that (1) US crude oil inventories as of April 12 were -1.3% below the seasonal 5-year average, (2) gasoline inventories were -3.7% below the seasonal 5-year average, and (3) distillate inventories were -7.4% below the 5-year seasonal average.  US crude oil production in the week ending April 12 was unchanged w/w at 13.1 million bpd, below the recent record high of 13.3 million bpd.

Baker Hughes reported last Friday that active US oil rigs in the week ended April 19 rose by +5 rigs to a 7-month high of 511 rigs, moderately above the 2-year low of 494 rigs posted on November 10.  The number of US oil rigs has fallen over the past year from the 4-year high of 627 rigs posted in December 2022.

Have a Great Day!

Loren R Bailey, President

Office: 479-846-2761

Cell: 479-790-5581

SCHEDULED OUT OF OFFICE  

JUN 06 VACATION LEAVE AFTER LUNCH

JUN 10 RETURN/ARRIVE 1300

Tell Us How We’re Doing On Google Business

https://g.page/r/CUyL9wDolv04EAI/review

As always, thank you so much for being a part of the Fuel Manager Services, Inc. family, and we look forward to making this the best year yet!

“Celebrating 31-years of Service Excellence”

www.FuelManagerServices.com

“Coming Together is the Beginning; Keeping Together is Progress; Working Together is Success”  ~ Henry Ford

Categories: Fuel News
loren: Fuel Manager Services Inc. "Serving the trucking industry since 1992" I've been in and around the trucking industry for 45-years beginning in owner operator operations at Willis Shaw Express. I bought a small trucking company that I ran for 6-years then sold and went to work for J.B. Hunt Transport in 1982. After 10-years with Hunt, I started Fuel Manager Services, Inc., we are in our 29th year of serving the American trucking companies. Our simple goal was and is to bridge the gap between the trucking companies and the fuel suppliers.