Fuels Market Watch 24
Exclusive daily fuels market analysis by Dr. Nancy Yamaguchi.
FUEL MARKETS TODAY – Market Overview
Crude oil prices continued to climb over the past 24 hours, though at a modest pace. WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude prices in today’s trading session opened at $70.06/b, up by $0.39 from yesterday’s opening. This was the first trading session since July 16th where WTI forward month prices topped the $70/b mark. Gasoline prices opened with a gain in today’s session, while diesel prices were down by a fraction of a cent. An early morning selloff caused a dip in prices, but buying interest is now picking up. The week appears to be heading for a solid finish in the black.
The market is responding optimistically over the future of U.S. trade agreements with Mexico and Canada, with a thaw in relations with Canada. Perplexingly, U.S. President Trump appeared to move on to target European trading partners once again, comparing the EU to China, “almost as bad as China, just smaller.”
Oil market supply tightness may be eased by estimates that OPEC’s production in August will reach a new high for the year. The increase is expected despite sanction-induced reductions in Iranian supplies. Iraq is ramping up output, and Libyan production is recovering after an unplanned outage. Saudi Arabia also has pledged to increase its production by a “measurable” volume.
GASOLINE
Gasoline opened on the NYMEX at $2.1435 today, 3.58 cents above yesterday’s opening. Over the last 24-hour period from 9AM EST to 9AM EST, gasoline prices rose by 2.75 cents/gallon (1. 3%.) Gasoline prices appear to be heading for a large weekly gain, with prices approximately 7 cents per gallon higher than they were on Monday. Currently, gasoline prices are recovering from an early selloff. The latest price is $2.1499/gallon.
DIESEL
Diesel opened on the NYMEX at $2.2454/gallon today, down fractionally by 0.07 cents from yesterday’s opening. Diesel prices nonetheless appear to be heading for a significant weekly gain, with current prices more than 4 cents a gallon higher than they were on Monday. Over the last 24-hour period from 9AM EST to 9AM EST, diesel prices declined slightly by 0.74 cents/gallon (0.33%) Like crude and gasoline, diesel prices are recovering from an early morning selloff. Currently, diesel prices are trading up and down, holding the gains. The latest price is $2.2471/gallon.
WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE
WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude prices opened on the NYMEX at $70.06/b today, up by $0.35 from yesterday’s opening price. Over the last 24-hour period from 9AM EST to 9AM EST, crude prices rose slightly by $0.19/b (0.27%.) Currently, crude prices are coming back from an early-morning selloff, and they are slightly below $70/b. Overall, however, prices for the week have been in the range of $1.00-$1.50/b higher than they were on Monday. The latest price is $69.95/b.
