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Market Close: Dec 30 Up

Fueling Strategy: Please fuel as needed tonight, Friday look for prices to go up less than one penny ~ Be Safe
NMEX Crude      $ 76.99 UP $.4300
NYMEX ULSD     $2.3959 UP $.0181
NYMEX Gas       $2.2968 UP $.0251
NEWS
U.S. oil futures settled higher Thursday as fading concerns about the impact on the economy from the omicron variant of the coronavirus and signs of falling inventories helped to support year-end buying. “We’ve got oil prices showing some real strength into the end of the year and part of that is easing omicron fear and part of that is falling U.S. inventories,” said Matt Smith, analyst at commodity focused data and analytics firm Kplr, in a phone interview. Markets had been soft to start the session as S&P Global Platts, citing refining sources, said that China’s Ministry of Commerce has issued 107.4 million metric tons in crude import quotas, falling 9.4% from the same batch in 2021. However, dwindling concerns about omicron, given evidence that it is less severe than other variants, has bolstered the outlook for demand, Smith said. The analyst said that positive momentum in assets perceived as risky also was sweeping up oil futures along with stocks on Wall Street.

Upbeat economic reports also provided support for energy bulls, as the U.S Labor Department data on Thursday showed that 198,000 applied for unemployment benefits during the week ended Dec. 25, leaving new jobless claims around a 52-year low amid the spread of omicron. Separately, the Chicago Business Barometer, also known as the Chicago PMI, rose to 63.1 in December up from 61.8 last month, with the report viewed as an early gauge of the Institute for Supply Management’s more closely followed report on manufacturing activity next Tuesday.

West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery traded 43 cents, or 0.6%, higher to settle at $76.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after the U.S. benchmark rose 0.8% on Wednesday. The contract has posted seven straight gains, marking the longest such advance since the eight-session period ended Feb. 10, according to Dow Jones Market Data. February Brent crude added 9 cents, or 0.1%, to finish at $79.32 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, after rising 0.4% to the highest price since Nov. 25 for the global benchmark. Brent has climbed for four straight sessions. Both contracts had pared early, modest losses to pivot higher in the middle of the session.

U.S. Energy Information Administration data on Wednesday showed crude oil inventories fell by 3.6 million barrels in the week to Dec. 24. Gasoline and distillate inventories also declined, indicating demand remained strong despite record U.S. COVID-19 cases. Global oil prices have rebounded by between 50% and 60% in 2021 as fuel demand recovered to near pre-pandemic levels and output management by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) for most of the year erased a supply glut. OPEC+ will meet on Jan. 4 to decide whether to continue increasing output in February and the early speculation is that the organization will stand pat on its plan to raise overall monthly production by 400,000 per day starting in January.

Have a Great Day,
Loren R Bailey, President
Office: 479-846-2761
Cell: 479-790-5581
Marketing & Sales: Brian 817-480-2102
www.owneroperatoradvisoryservice.com
“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.”
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.