Fuels Market Watch 24

FUEL MARKETS TODAY – Market Overview

Oil prices staged a modest rally on Friday, though this morning the market has given back some of the gain. WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude prices in today’s trading session opened at $67.55, up by $0.60 from Friday’s opening price of $66.95/b. Gasoline and diesel futures prices also opened higher this morning, but they also are tapering back down.  

Last week brought another downturn in oil prices, and the week finished in the red. WTI futures prices opened the week on Monday at $69.60 and closed at $67.59/b, a loss of $2.01/b, or 2.9%. Gasoline futures prices opened the week at $1.9151/gallon and plunged by 10.01 cents/gallon (5.2%) at the close of market on Friday. Diesel prices held the most value, falling by just 0.7 cents/gallon (0.3%) during the week. Diesel prices opened at $2.31/gallon on Monday and closed at $2.303/gallon on Friday. 

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Commerce released its first estimate of third-quarter GDP growth, reporting a stronger-than-expected 3.5% annualized rate. Growth was attributed to strong consumer spending and a jump in corporate inventory investment, as companies rushed to purchase essential goods prior to the launching of tariffs. Consumer spending increased for the seventh consecutive month, rising by 0.4% last month as consumers spent more on health care and motor vehicles. Indeed, as the U.S. market opened this morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back by 130.67 points (0.53%) from last week’s dramatic selloff, and this was fueled in part by gains in automotive stocks. 

However, the Commerce Department also reported that U.S. income rose by the smallest amount in over a year. Prices continued to rise. Add to this last week’s stock market rout, and it appears increasingly likely that U.S. consumers will reduce their spending in the coming month. On the global front, there already are concerns that economic growth will slow.