Who Knows What Tomorrow Holds?

By Published On: June 14, 2019Categories: Crude, Daily Market News & Insights, Diesel, Gasoline

My last editorial, dated May 17th, was either about tea leaves or the market needing to take a breather.  Either way, since that date the crack spread declined $2.5/bbl, WTI declined over $10/bbl and ULSD futures tumbled $.30/gal.

In that article, I highlighted the fact that refinery utilization was seasonally behind due to turnarounds. Throughput was expected to increase quickly, however, thus putting more product into the market (causing a possible breather for prices).  Since then, we’ve seen a 3% jump in production and I’d expect that trend to continue with another 3-5% increase as summer continues.  Crack spreads’ topping $20/bbl represents just the carrot the refining community needs to maximize production.

I also emphasized the fact that demand was the big wild card.  The U.S. consumer sentiment index posted 15-year highs last month, but the threat of lower global demand has really taken its toll on futures values.  My concern here isthis: now is when we should be the most worried future demand as U.S. consumers, generally speaking, don’t save enough and when times are good, spend like there is no tomorrow  Now, I don’t what tomorrow holds, but the very real possibility of slumping consumer demand does raise concerns about where we go from here.

 

This article is part of Crude

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The information contained herein is derived from sources believed to be reliable; however, this information is not guaranteed as to its accuracy or completeness. Furthermore, no responsibility is assumed for use of this material and no express or implied warranties or guarantees are made. This material and any view or comment expressed herein are provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an inducement or recommendation to buy or sell products, commodity futures or options contracts.

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