On the Up and Up
Good morning,
WTI Crude prices continue to climb towards $60/barrel. As I have been writing, hedge funds took long positions on crude so bullish sentiment seems to be running the market. I believe that we will see prices peak somewhere in Q2 of this year. I think there will be an opportunity for hedge funds to ring the register around that time. Earlier in the week though, we experienced a one day collapse in the rally due to President Trump tweeting at OPEC that prices are too high. The market experienced a knee-jerk reaction to the downside. However, the following day, the EIA reported a massive drop in crude oil inventories giving further support to the strength of US crude oil exports to China. In addition, OPEC came out with strong messages following Trump’s tweet saying they will not be bossed around and the plan to cut production is well supported and underway. This week again gives support to my idea that the market is on the bull train and will be for quite sometime until the hedge funds can ring the register. In Q2, we will start to see how the economy will look going into summer and high demand season. In addition, the FED will have some more input, and we will see where OPEC ends up. For now, get your wallet out and expect to keep paying these prices for a few more months.
In local retail news, gasoline retail prices continue to climb towards $2.49/gallon. I expect that we will experience at least $2.49/gallon at gasoline retail in most of the state sometime in March. If winter continues to hang around, diesel retail prices will easily continue to hover around $3.00/gallon.
Propane prices are steady and actually dropped a little last week. Production continues to be very robust and is beating demand at this point, even though winter is colder than last year. Inventory levels in the country are strong and will end the winter season at high levels. So depending on the price of crude, we could experience some very low summer fill prices this year. For now, please make sure that your icy driveways are taken care of and that there is a clear path to your propane tank to ensure a safe and efficient delivery.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to give us a call.
Best regards,
Jon Crawford – Pres.
Wait and See
Good afternoon,
Crude prices continue climb causing gasoline and diesel prices to rise. We are seeing WTI crude carve out a recent floor at around $55/barrel. I’m not expecting that to change much until after the China/US summit in March. For now, it’s a continuation of “wait and see” what the news throws out each day. The FED is starting to look dovish again which is putting some downward pressure on crude price, coupled with continued increases in crude production in the US. But Saudi Arabia cuts and sanctions against Venezuela and Iran are keeping the downward momentum in check. At the moment, hedge funds have reentered the market with longer positions on crude adding to the temporary floor on WTI. So far now, I expect WTI to continue its’ narrow trade range.
Local markets are continuing to see rising retail prices on gasoline and diesel, and I expect to see the trend continue. Gasoline prices are well on their way to over $2.29/gallon and diesel prices at over $3.00/gallon are starting to pop up. I don’t see these prices going away anytime soon. For now, it’s wait and see until the end of March.
Propane prices are continuing to hold steady with increases in supplies. Production is at record levels and currently we are 11M barrels ahead of inventory levels compared to last year. I expect to see propane trade with crude for the next month or so, but we could start to see propane break away and fall once winter demand starts to diminish. The only caveat is that is crude goes on a rocket higher, propane will follow.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to give us a call.
Best regards,
Jon Crawford – Pres.