The market is trying to continue yesterday’s bull run that was based on a surprise draw. WTI Crude is trading at $56.09, a gain of 12 cents.
Fuel is flat in early trading this morning. Diesel is trading at $1.9664, a fractional gain. Gasoline is trading at $1.6524, also a fractional gain.
On Wednesday, markets closed at $55.97 up $1.81 (3.3%). News of a surprise build helped to lift markets yesterday as traders clung to this bullish news to help drive the market upward. Markets are trying to continue yesterday’s bull run but are being slowed down by news that employment in Germany’s private sector dropped for the first time in six years in October.
The EIA reported a surprise crude draw of 1.7 MMbbls versus an expected build of 2.2 MMbbls. At Cushing, they had a build of 1.5 MMbbls. Diesel drew 2.7 MMbbls versus an expected 2.8 MMbbls expected draw. Gasoline had a 3.1 MMbbls draw versus an expected draw of 2.3 MMbbls.
In import/export news, the US was a net exporter of crude during the week ended October 18. US crude imports have now fallen to their lowest level since 1996, while shipments to the US Gulf Coast were the lowest in EIA data since 1990.