By Dr. Nancy Yamaguchi
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices lost ground this week. Friday’s opening price of $49.61/b was $1.24 below idonday’s opening price of $50.85/b. By mid-week, WTI prices had receded behind the $50/b line, where they have remained. Distillate and gasoline prices also slid during the week.
From Monday’s opening to Friday’s opening, WTI prices fell by $1.24, or -2.4%. WTI’s price variability went from a high of $50.98/b on Monday to a low of $48.87/b on Wednesday, a range of $2.11/b.
Distillate prices opened Monday at $1.5797/gallon. Prices fell through midweek, though they opened more strongly at $1.5641 this morning. This is a decrease of 1.56 cents, or -1.0%, since Monday’s opening.
Gasoline RBOB prices opened Monday at $1.5329/gallon. Prices fell through midweek and then levelled off. RBOB opened at $1.4858/gallon this morning. During the course of the week, this was a drop of 4.71 cents, or -3.1%, since Monday’s opening. As noted in the “Market Trend” article, the NYMEX futures prices missed some extreme spot market swings, notably in PADD 5, as refineries come in and out of maintenance and as several pipeline issues have arisen.
