Good morning,
Well, the game of Ping-Pong continues on the crude market. This week, due to the fears of a trade war with China, WTI crude took a dip to it’s lowest close in almost six weeks. In addition, geo-political concerns in the Middle East and North Korea seem to have taken a back seat to the talks on Chinese tariffs and NAFTA. Like the DOW, WTI has been very volatile this week. WTI seems to have a bit more momentum to push back towards $60, but there are still a lot of long positions on crude that would need to unwind. Also, a cooling of the economy coupled with a week dollar will put the crude trade in an interesting position now the China is trying to push crude purchases using the Yuan. If demand erodes and the dollar tanks, it will be interesting to see how crude reacts.
Retail prices on gasoline have stabilized for now. Summer pricing for gasoline is now baked in to our cost. So now we should see retail move more based on crude. Diesel is done with winter blending so pricing will be most affected based on demand going into planting season whenever this cold weather ends.
Propane futures hit an excellent entry point and most suppliers entered positions for next winter. As I’ve stated before, so far we are seeing contract prices for next heating season very close to this season’s prices. Please make sure to check your tank if you are on will-call delivery service with us. This cold weather has caused a late season demand that most people were not prepared for. Summer fill and next season’s contracts will be out in a couple of months. More info to come.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to give us a call.
Best regards,
Jon Crawford – Pres.
Crawford Oil and Propane