Fueling Strategy: KEEP tanks topped tonight, Saturday AM wholesale prices will jump up 3 cents then Sunday look for a solid 2 cent drop – Be Safe Today

Thoughts and Prayers for everyone down in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia, and also to our friends in Louisiana and Texas – Be Safe This Weekend

NYMEX Crude $ 47.48 DN $1.6100
NY Harbor ULSD $1.7657 DN $0.0204
NYMEX Gasoline $1.6476 DN $0.0134

NEWS
U.S. oil prices dropped by more than 3% Friday to the lowest finish in a week as domestic refineries saw a slow recovery from flooding due to Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall on the Texas coast two weeks ago.

Brent crude, meanwhile, followed WTI lower, but the loss for the global benchmark were more modest, a day after prices settled at their highest level since mid-April. October West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.61, or 3.3%, to settle at $47.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was its lowest finish in a week, but it still gained 0.4% from last Friday’s settlement to score the first weekly gain in six weeks. November Brent crude the global benchmark, lost 71 cents, or 1.3%, to $53.78 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, with prices up nearly 2% for the week. WTI, the U.S. standard, declined as demand for oil from refineries has been slow to return to normal levels in the wake of Harvey. As of late Thursday, data from S&P Global Platts showed that 12.8% of U.S. refinery capacity was down due to the storm. “Oil and gas infrastructure in the U.S. Gulf Coast region continues to come back online post hurricane Harvey, with 1.0 million [barrels a day] of refining capacity still fully shut down, and 2.7 million b/d of capacity in the process of restarting,” Jenna Delaney, senior oil analyst at PIRA Energy, an analytics unit of S&P Global Platts, said in an email update late Thursday.

Weaker demand has resulted in higher crude inventory levels in the U.S., with concerns about excess supply weighing on prices over the past two weeks. The Energy Information Administration on Thursday reported that U.S. crude inventories rose 4.6 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 1. It also reported that domestic refinery utilization dropped to 79.7% of capacity from 96.6% a week earlier. That was the biggest plunge since September 2005 after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, according to Richard Hastings, macro strategist at Seaport Global Securities. The U.S. lost more than 20% of its refining capacity in the days after Harvey, though many refineries have since started to come back online.

Brent prices, meanwhile, slipped back for session, but gained for the week as they continue to find support from higher refinery demand in Europe and Asia. With U.S. Gulf Coast ports and refineries out of commission, European and Asian refiners have had to increase production, elevating their demand for crude supplies. Investors and analysts were waiting to see Hurricane Irma’s impact on oil demand and potential disruptions to energy transportation in the Gulf Coast in the coming days.

Next week, the market will see monthly reports from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Analysts will be looking to see if the IEA adjusts its demand estimates.

Have a great day,

Loren R. Bailey, President
Fuel Manager Services Inc
“Serving the Trucking Industry Since 1992”
www.FuelManagerServices.com
Cellular: 479-790-5581
Office: 479-846-2761