The Crude Market was down for the week. The week started as a continuation of last week with the markets continuing to weigh the outcomes form the attack on Saudi oil infrastructure. Despite international consensus that Iran was behind the attacks, it became clear that direct military action against Iran was unlikely. As the week progressed, it became apparent that Saudi production was coming back on line quickly which drove markets lower.
A bearish inventory report by the EIA mid-week continued to put downward pressure on the markets. A surprise crude build went against expectations of a small draw. At Cushing, API reports were confirmed by the EIA of the first crude build in 12 weeks. This inventory data was significant when considering that the builds occurred while Saudi supply was less than fully operational. It is an indication that the U.S. is somewhat insulated from global supply constraints due to high production in the Permian.
Prices in Review
WTI Crude opened the week at $59.25. It followed a steady downward trend all week. Crude opened Friday at $56.51, a loss of $2.74 (-4.6%).
Diesel opened the week at $2.0239. It generally followed crude through the week. Diesel opened Friday at $1.9563, a loss of 6.8 cents (-3.3%).
Gasoline opened the week at $1.6946. It followed crude until Thursday when it rebounded somewhat. Gasoline gave back some of its Thursday gains in early trading on Friday. It opened Friday at $1.6575, a loss of 3.7 cents (-2.2%).
