Week in Review – December 17, 2021

This week was stacked with important headlines including deadly tornadoes, IEA reports, and NFL outbreaks showing the growing strength of the virus variant. Over the weekend, tornadoes ripped through six states, causing severe damage, and killing over 80 people. On December 11th, the Arkansas and Kentucky governors declared states of emergencies in their respective states. In Kentucky, the declaration notes, “Commercial drivers responding to affected areas are relieved of the requirement to stop at weigh stations, that permit fees for overweight/over-dimensional vehicles are waived, as are IRP registration requirements” (SIGMA).

On Tuesday, markets pulled back slightly following the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) monthly oil report, which showed supplies rising even as oil inventories keep dropping. The group expects US supply will lead the way for a couple of months, with Saudi Arabia and Russia taking the lead in 2022 as OPEC+ unwinds its supply deal. In total, nearly 6.4 million barrels per day of supply will be added next year, significantly outpacing 2021 growth and driving oil prices lower.

Lastly, later in the week we saw more disparaging news regarding COVID-19, as Omicron took over the NFL with over 75 reported cases. In the NBA as well, cases have been rampant, causing many teams such as the Chicago Bulls to postpone games until they have enough of their team healthy to play. With new cases comes the possibility of threatening demand around the world, as more countries are starting to impose tighter restrictions on travel.

Prices in Review

WTI Crude opened the week at $72.04. Prices fell throughout the week until rising back up on Thursday and Friday. Crude opened Friday at $71.92, a decrease of $0.12 from Monday.

Diesel opened the week at $2.2595. Diesel was extremely volatile this week, with many changes following similar trends of crude. It opened Friday at $2.2574, a decrease of $0.0021 from Monday.

Gasoline opened the week at $2.1455. Prices decrease earlier in the week until Thursday when they rose. Today prices are up again with gasoline opening at $2.1688, up $0.0233 from Monday’s opening price.