- Retail regular gasoline prices rose by 14.6c in the last four weeks to $3.249/Gal. About 57% of the change was due to the price of crude oil, while the remainder was the refinery margin
- Scroll down for a chart of the RBOB-WTI crack spread, a measure of refinery margin. It shows elevated cracks this year
- Total motor gasoline inventories fell by 0.3 MMBbl for the week ending February 16 and are 2% below the five-year average for this time of year
- Russia implements a six-month gasoline export ban (Reuters)
- Starting March 1, Russia will halt gasoline exports for six months, responding to domestic supply pressures, with exports previously at 640,000 mt/month
- Exemptions apply to Eurasian Economic Union members: Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia, despite tight home supplies
- Following a surplus of 2 mt in November, rising demand and refinery maintenance forecast a repeat of tight supplies; the last ban was less than six months ago
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- Retail diesel prices rose by 14c in the last four weeks to $4.058/Gal. About 45% of the change was due to the price of crude oil, while the remainder was the refinery margin
- Scroll down for a chart of the NY Harbor ULSD-WTI crack spread, a measure of refinery margin. It shows elevated cracks this year
- Distillate fuel inventories fell by 4 MMBbl for the week ending February 16 and are about 10% below the five-year average for this time of year
- Diesel weakens amid refinery restarts and dollar strength
- Nymex ULSD prices fell 22c or 7.5% from the February 9 peak, influenced by dollar strength and demand worries, with refinery restarts adding pressure
- Front-month backwardation eased, then began reversing early this week amidst the busiest U.S. refinery turnaround season in over 14 years
- US diesel fundamentals remain bullish; PADD 1 supplies dip below the five-year range while total US supply is 10% under the five-year average
- Healthy domestic demand, bolstered by the industrial sector, compensates for lower trucking and heating needs; exports to Europe pick up as diesel arbitrage reopens
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