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Market Close: Sep 07 Mixed

Fueling Strategy: Please partial fill ONLY tonight due to Saturday prices will drop 2.5 cents – Be Safe
NYMEX Crude    $  67.75 DN $.0200
NYMEX ULSD     $2.2182 UP $.0091
NYMEX Gas       $1.9700 UP $.0190
NEWS

Oil prices fell on Friday for the third straight session, weighed down by a strong dollar, weakness in the equity markets, and Tropical Storm Gordon’s smaller-than-expected impact on U.S. Gulf Coast oil production.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 2 cents to $67.75 per barrel. For the week, WTI was set to lose more than 3.5 percent, and Brent was on track to fall 1.6 percent.

Oil prices had posted gains early in the week as the approach of Gordon forced the closure of Gulf of Mexico oil platforms and threatened refineries on the Gulf Coast. “The market got too juiced up before the tropical storm…a lot of the weakness in the week (since) has been unwinding from that,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. The storm ultimately weakened and moved away from oil-producing areas and energy companies restarted operations shut-in as a precautionary measure.

The dollar rose against a basket of other currencies after a report showed U.S. job growth surged in August and that wages notched their largest annual increase in more than nine years. The jobs data raised concerns about the possibility of faster interest rate hikes, which in turn pressured equities markets. The pan-European STOXX 600 had its worst weekly performance since the end of March, while emerging market stocks dropped 3.2 percent. U.S. oil prices were also still weighed down by disappointing inventory data from the Energy Information Administration on Thursday, analysts said.

U.S. crude inventories last week fell 4.3 million barrels to 401.49 million barrels, the lowest since February 2015, the EIA data showed. But that data was offset by a rise in refined product stocks coupled with relatively weak demand for fuel during this summer’s U.S. driving season – when consumption normally peaks. Gasoline stocks rose 1.8 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles climbed 3.1 million barrels, the EIA said. “This bears all the hallmarks of a disappointing summer driving season. As a result, the alarm bells are now ringing that a gasoline glut will persist for the foreseeable future,” Stephen Brennock of London brokerage PVM said.

Meanwhile, U.S. sanctions against major oil producer Iran are fueling expectations of a tighter market. “The main driver of oil prices, in our view, remains the reimposition of U.S. … sanctions against consumers of Iranian oil,” Standard Chartered said this week. Washington has indicated it may offer temporary sanction waivers to allied countries that are unable to cease imports immediately from Iran.

Have a Great Day,
Loren R Bailey, President
Fuel Manager Services, Inc.
“We Offer More Services to Fuel Your Business”
Office: 479-846-2761
Cell: 479-790-5581

www.FuelManagerServices.com

“Perform at your best when your best is required. Your best is required each day.” ~ Coach John Wooden

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.