Good afternoon!
Crude oil prices continue to remain weak and received very little support from events that unfolded. Even though US and China struck a “light” trade deal, crude did not respond positively. The deal is not seen as changing the world economic environment. Basically, most see the phase one deal as a “stop measure” from the situation getting any worse. OPEC also released information that even with the purposed crude oil cuts, crude production will beat demand. This news is very bearish and tracks as the US officially hit a new production record of 13M barrels/day. Gasoline and diesel stock inventories rose again this week. And even though exports are strong, petroleum productions continue to be ample in supply. Overall, the outlook for crude prices is very bearish and this is on the heels of a potential conflict with Iran only two weeks ago!
Gasoline and diesel retail prices dropped a bit this week. We are seeing about $2.39/gallon on gasoline and $2.84/gallon on diesel fuel. I don’t expect to see much change on prices at the pump.
Propane prices dropped again this week. Propane is very bearish. Supplies are at national record levels and the lack of demand is making it worse. I don’t expect to see any major blow out in propane prices this season. For right now, we are waiting to see if winter will ever stick around! Even with the recent cold snap, nothing looks to ever stay longer than a couple days.
As always, in you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to give us a call.
Best regards,
Jon Crawford