The augurs reading the dollar, the economy, unemployment numbers, refinery closings, and all the other energy news stories today were predictably confused especially with the technicals calling for higher prices. Disappointingly bigger than expected unemployment numbers led to early trading in the mid-$81 range but the falling dollar and a problem at a Canadian refinery brought the number back to within a cent of yesterday's close. Both products saw price increases with gasoline leading the way.
I thought that prices above $80 could not be sustained during this full week of business and was proven wrong. There is a lot more optimism among traders than marketers. Refiners, struggling for survival, have been cutting back on production and drawing down on inventory. These actions led to the highest futures prices in 15 months. Prices may stay at elevated levels because of continued inventory draw and decreased refinery output.
For the week, crude +$2.82 to $82.65, gasoline +9.17 cents to $2.1547, distillate +6.6 cents to $2.1373. The gasoline number surprises because demand has been weak but likely reflects seasonal slates with greater distillate production.
No comments:
Post a Comment