- Retail regular gasoline prices rose by 11.7c in the last four weeks to $3.653/Gal. About 56% 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 0.6 MMBbl for the week ending April 19 and are 4% below the five-year average for this time of year
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- Retail diesel prices fell by 9.1c to $3.947/Gal in the last four weeks. About 47% 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 increased by 1.6 MMBbl for the week ending April 19 and are about 7% below the five-year average for this time of year
- Traders scramble for US storage as distillate demand disappoints; Phillips 66 expects market recovery (Reuters)
- Due to weak distillates demand, traders are rapidly filling storage along the U.S. East Coast with fuels like diesel and heating oil, according to data from storage broker The Tank Tiger
- The milder winter in the U.S. Northeast and Europe has weighed on demand for distillates, impacting global refining margins
- Distillate storage demand at NY Harbor surged from virtually none in March to about 300 MBbl this month, with traders planning to export to Europe later when demand is expected to rise, said Tank Tiger COO Barsamian
- However, US refiner Phillips 66 expects the market to recover, noting that refineries on the East and West Coasts are shifting production towards more gasoline to help alleviate distillate oversupply and improve margins
- The WTI and NYH ULSD futures spreads, known as "cracks," have fallen over 30% this year, now below $25/Bbl
- Diesel cracks exhibit seasonal fluctuations, typically strengthening in winter and weakening in summer. Despite current weaknesses, similar patterns last year preceded a significant rally later in the year
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