Good morning!

Crude prices pressed “repeat” again this week with supply and economic news driving the volatility.  We started the week off with Brexit drama, Iraq announcing that they pumped more oil than they should have, and Iran saying they will breach all parts of the nuclear deal.  Prices dropped hard.  Then OPEC comes out after a new Saudi Oil Minister was named saying that they will do whatever is necessary to keep prices high leading into the Aramco IPO.  Iraq followed saying they will behave and do better on cuts moving forward.  Even Russia said they would work with the US on crude prices which is unheard of!  The news cause prices to spike higher.  Then on Wednesday, inventory numbers on crude levels displayed large draws coupled with strong economic data in the US causing prices to spike even higher.  But then in the afternoon, Trump fired John Bolton, the biggest Hawk on Iran, and said he would consider waivers on Iranian crude exports to get them to the table for negotiation.  Crude prices turned and fell off a cliff.  Then on Thursday the IEA announced that world supply would probably go into major surplus in 2020, causing prices to continue the fall.  And finally, today economic data on the US was strong and US/China trade relations showed movement to the positive with each country giving in a bit.  The US will not enforce new trade tariffs, and China will lift the agricultural purchasing tariffs and buy soybeans.  The news gave support to crude prices and stopped the fall.  So WTI crude price ended where it started at about $55/barrel.  What a ride the past weeks have been for crude prices and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.

Retail prices on gasoline continue to stay very low.  Prices on regular gasoline are ranging between $2.34-2.44/gallon based on major price differentials currently between suppliers.  Diesel prices are also remaining very stable going into harvest season.

Propane prices are slowly starting to creep up, but nothing too scary.  Propane is trading based on crude movement.  We are still at historically low prices of propane with historically high volumes of inventory.  We do not expect to see prices rising until October 1st when winter tariffs kick in and harvest demand starts to take shape.  If you have not contracted your volume for the heating season, you can still do so.  Please call our office to have your tank filled and we can prepare a contract for you.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to give us a call.

Best regards,

Jon Crawford

Good afternoon!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Labor Day weekend.  Crude oil prices went on a roller coaster following the long weekend.  The week started out with tumble as China announced retaliation tariffs along with economic pressures starting to creep into the US markets and Chinese data.  But then a day later, China and the US announced a meeting and everything turned around!  In addition, the Hurricane Dorian managed to miss the Gulf so no oil production will be impacted here in the US.  But then, the big rally was dampened by the release of info that OPEC, particularly Russia, is not holding to compliance cuts.  As prices started to relax, Yemen announced that they killed 30 Saudi’s in retaliation strikes today which caused crude to soar higher, coupled with large announced draws in US inventory.  In addition, the US payroll data was fantastic and China revised their production data showing no contraction.  But by the end of the day, crude oil prices finished flat with world economics and potential over supply still in play.  What a roller coaster and a head scratcher!  Crude has been trading with high volatility in a narrow $5/barrel range.  This tells me that crude is ripe for a break out in one direction.  Which direction is TBD!  And by TBD, that means what news stores are discussed for the day! 🙂

In local retail news, gasoline prices have fallen below $2.49/gallon and were are five year lows for Labor Day.  The lower prices were a nice relief on everyone who was traveling.  Diesel prices continue to fall as Chicago economics continue to favor our market over the neighboring Group.  However, I don’t expect to see diesel prices go any lower as refinery maintenance finishes and harvest season approaches.

Propane prices continue to remain low, low, low.  The national inventory showed another large build and we are well on our way to breaking an inventory supply record this year.  If there is no major corn drying demand event, early cold, or nasty winter, I expect propane prices to remain low all winter.  Now next year will be a different story as additional exporting hubs and pipelines will be in full operation.  So for now, enjoy the lower prices of this season!  If you have not filled your tank to start the season, please do so!

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to give us a call.

Best regards,

Jon Crawford – Pres.

Good afternoon,

WTI Crude prices continue to trade in their narrow range of about $53-57/barrel.  On the supply side, with the current OPEC cuts in place, the Venezuela shut down, and the US slowly shutting down rigs, the market is actually tighter than the price is displaying.  Right now, all eyes and ears are on recession fears due to the trade war with China.  If the world economy slows down, then I don’t expect crude prices to tank much more than below $50/barrel.  So much of the recession fear is baked into the current price.  However, if the trade war starts to wind down and the world economy continues as is, then we could easily experience a $7-10 spike in crude prices.  The FED said that they are willing to act appropriately but not committed to rate cuts and the trade with China does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.  For now, WTI crude will continue to bounce in mid $50’s.

Retail prices on gasoline and diesel have continued to ease.  Gas prices have fallen below $2.49/gallon in some markets, and diesel has dropped below $2.69.  I expect to see these lower prices at the pump through Labor Day.

Propane prices are at historical lows and inventories remain at historical highs.  We expect propane inventories to hit the largest volume ever recorded.  We encourage everyone to enjoy these low prices with a summer fill and contract for the next heating season.  Please call our office or go online to place an order!

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to give us a call.

Best regards,

Jon Crawford – Pres.

Good morning,

Crude oil ended the week with little change in price even though the headlines were packed full of influential data.  On the geopolitical front, Iran captured a ship from the UK, claimed to have caught US spies in Iran, and threatened the rest of the world’s Navies to stay out of the Persian Gulf.  In the past, these types of incidents would have triggered a 10-15% premium increase on crude prices.  But this week, the news did nothing to move the thermometer on risk premium in crude prices.  I believe this is because the risk of supply surplus is winning in the minds of traders.  Demand erosion is continuing.  This week, even after the largest reported for the year draw-down in US Crude Inventory, prices barely moved.  The lack of movement is because crude is being exported but not necessarily delivered.  Ships of crude oil are starting to appear without a home.  The scenario starting to form has caused much pain on prices in the past.  In addition, China’s economy seems to be cooling and the US is not far behind.  I don’t think recession fears are on, but maybe a pullback.  But any pullback in demand when production is at an all-time high, even with cuts in place from OPEC+, any movement to surplus will form a global glut in crude oil inventories and cause prices to crash.  I actually believe that if OPEC compliance does not continue through the end of the year, we have a risk of WTI crude prices plummeting below $50/barrel to start 2020.  And I don’t think that low of price would slow down the US production.  I really think we need to experience WTI prices closer to $45/barrel before we see US production dramatically slow up.  For now, it’s possibly sideways movement on crude prices until end of summer.

In local retail news, as I was writing last week, retail prices peaked and have come down like expected.  I don’t expect prices to drop much more at the pump though.  However, it’s better than an increase during summer travel!

Propane prices continue to stay very low with high volumes of national inventory.  Please take advantage of these prices and fill your tank.  We will deliver below the minimum requirement during this time to try and help everyone save some money!  We also suggest that you contract your propane for this coming winter.  The contract prices are lower than last year and are a good value.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to give us a call.

Best regards,

Jon Crawford