Consumer Hedge Tear Sheet

Consumer Hedge Tear Sheet

Bunkerspot June/July 2010 article by HCEnergy's Chris Thorpe

EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report Commentary

• The 0.98% fall in the US Dollar Index and rallying equity markets are the principal drivers of the market today; the EIA release contained few surprises
• Crude oil stocks ↓1.8 million barrels, vs. ↓0.9 million expected, after refineries increased utilization by 1.6% to 89.1%
• Cushing, OK crude oil inventories ↓0.5 million barrels, sustaining today's $0.15 narrowing of the July/August contango in WTI
• A 128,000 bpd decrease in Distillate product demand helped push inventories ↑1.8 million barrels, vs. ↑0.4 million expected

Consumer Hedge Tear Sheet

EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report Commentary

• Gasoline stocks fell by 2.6 million barrels, much more than the -0.5 million barrels expected by analysts. An increase in production (149,000 bpd) offset a decrease in imports (148,000 bpd), suggesting that gasoline demand was considerably higher than expected.
• Product cracks are continuing yesterday's rally, supported by the fourth consecutive reduction in refinery utilization: ↓0.3% to 87.5%
• Crude oil imports ↓473,000 bpd, leading to a larger-than-expected 1.9 million barrel draw in stocks
• Crude oil stocks at Cushing, OK reversed last week's 300,000 barrel loss, returning levels to the all-time high of 37.9 million barrels

EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report Commentary

• Refineries reduced crude oil inputs by a modest 107,000 bpd after July HO and RBOB margins fell $3+ during the last week; Utilization is 0.1% lower at 87.8%
• Crude oil stocks ↑2.4 million barrels, 2.2 million barrels over expectations, but virtually all of the increase was in the somewhat independent US West Coast market
• Gasoline stocks ↓0.2 million barrels, as expected, after a 266,000 bpd increase in imports substituted a 220,000 bpd fall in domestic production