Fueling Strategy: Please top all tanks tonight, wholesale prices are down 3 cents but will go up Saturday AM – Be Safe

NYMEX Crude $ 43.01 UP $.2700
NY Harbor ULSD $1.3717 UP $.0001
NYMEX Gasoline $1.4341 UP $.0004

NEWS
Oil prices ended higher on Friday, but suffered a weekly loss for the fifth time in a row—the longest run of weekly declines since 2015.

Some of the world’s largest producers expressed willingness to stick to output cuts providing support for oil for the session. Prices, however, were still stuck in a bear market, defined as a decline from a recent peak of at least 20%, amid strong U.S. production. “Concerns have risen that supply and demand are not balancing as quickly as thought,” said Brian Youngberg, senior energy analyst at Edward Jones.

August West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 27 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $43.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil reached bear-market territory on Wednesday. For the week, WTI oil’s August contract ended roughly 4.4% lower. It was down a fifth-straight week—the longest losing streak of its kind since the eight-week fall that ended on Aug. 21, 2015, according to FactSet data tracking the most-active contracts. Brent crude for August delivery on London’s ICE Futures exchange added 32 cents, or 0.7%, for the session to $45.54 a barrel. It fell 3.9% for the week.

A monitoring committee made up of OPEC members and producers outside the group on Thursday said compliance to the deal reached 106% in May, the highest since the deal was first clinched late last year.
But “traders are clearly unconvinced by the cuts that are intended to bring inventories down to their five year average, particularly against the backdrop of rising output from the U.S., Libya and Nigeria,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

On Friday, Baker Hughes reported a rise in the number of U.S. rigs actively drilling for oil. The count, which is a rough proxy for the activity in the industry, marked the 23rd consecutive weekly climb, deepening concerns that U.S. output is offsetting the OPEC cuts.

Oil prices can “fall further, but prices below $50 or $55 are not sustainable over time [as] insufficient global investment will limit new supply,” said Youngberg. “We see prices rising later in the year and into 2018.” Prices fell earlier this week as data from the Energy Information Administration showed a weekly climb in U.S. crude production. The report, however, also showed that crude stockpiles declined for a second week in a row.

Have a great day,

Loren R. Bailey, Founder & Owner
FUEL MANAGER SERVICES INC
“Serving the Trucking Industry Since 1992”