Week in Review – October 9, 2020

WTI crude finished higher this week. After heavy speculation over the weekend about the President’s health, the market rose on Monday on news that Trump was recovering from the coronavirus.  News of his recovery erased much of the previous week’s losses to start this week.

Trump called for a halt to stimulus negotiations, then reversed course later by saying Congress should focus on passing a narrow deal. While negotiations have stalled for a broad stimulus package, markets hope a small, targeted bill can pass before the election.

Hurricane Delta is expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast today.  The storm has shut in crude production of nearly 1.5 MMbpd or 80% of Gulf production.  Concerns about supply disruptions lifted markets this week, but crude prices will likely fall later on as refineries slow their crude purchases in the affected areas.

Prices in Review

WTI Crude opened the week at $37.00 and followed a steady upward track throughout the week. Crude opened Friday at $41.31, a lofty increase of $4.31 cents (11.6%).

Diesel opened the week at $1.0845. It generally followed crude throughout the week. Diesel opened Friday at $1.1895, a gain of 10.5 cents (9.7%).

Gasoline opened the week at $1.1274.  Like diesel, gasoline tracked closely with the broader petroleum market’s gains. Gasoline opened Friday at $1.2338, a gain of 10.6 cents (9.4%).