Fuels Market Watch 24

FUEL MARKETS TODAY – Market Overview

Over the past 24 hours, WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude prices stabilized, and they have held their gain of last week. WTI prices in today’s trading session opened at $68.93/b, up by $0.36 from yesterday’s opening. Crude prices currently are holding steady. Gasoline and diesel prices opened higher today also, and forward prices currently are rising.

Oil prices and global stocks all rose upon news yesterday of a bilateral trade deal between the U.S. and Mexico. President Trump has stated that a bilateral deal with Mexico would replace NAFTA. There is as yet no bilateral deal with Canada, and it is not clear that Canada will agree to new U.S. terms on the three-nation agreement. Nonetheless, markets seem eager to find reason for optimism.

Oil prices also strengthened when new global supply data was released showing OPEC and Russian restraint in July. Participants in the OPEC production cut agreement have achieved extremely high rates of compliance, and they appear to be taking care not to flood the market and drive prices back down. On the demand side, Chinese crude oil imports rose as some refineries came back onstream following summer maintenance programs.