By Brian L. Milne, Energy Editor, Schneider Electric The final and holiday-shortened trade week in May brought about a great amount of volatility in US oil markets, which whipsawed in futures and spot trading on a multitude of concerns ranging from assessments of U.S. and global economies, Federal Reserve stimulus efforts, geopolitical tension in Africa…
Wholesale Gasoline Prices Drop on Building Supply
Brian L. Milne, Energy Editor, Schneider Electric A mid-May price spike in Midwest gasoline cash differentials spurred by a trio of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit outages at refineries located in the region atop of refinery upgrades that have limited the production of oil products in the Midwest continues to abate, pressuring supplier “rack” postings…
FCC Outages Point to Higher Gasoline Prices in June
By Brian L. Milne, Energy Editor, Schneider Electric A trio of unexpected gasoline producing unit outages in Illinois, Wyoming, and Kansas, atop of already low supply in the Midwest spiked regional gasoline prices to start out the second half of May, and in front of Memorial Day in what is known as the kickoff to…
Lower Crude Costs to Limit Upside in Gasoline Prices
By Brian L. Milne, Energy Editor, Schneider Electric A 1.8-cent gain in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) U.S. retail price average for regular grade gasoline for the week-ended May 6 halted a string of weekly increases in the average that dated back to late February, while lifting the average off a 14-week low. At $3.538…
Jobs Report Brightens Dimming Optimism Over Demand
By Brian L. Milne, Energy Editor, Schneider Electric The gasoline futures contract that trades on the New York Mercantile Exchange rallied to a nearly one-month high early in the May 6 session, bolstered by the Labor Department’s May 3rd nonfarm payroll report showing greater jobs growth than expected for April and a decline in the…
Retail Gasoline Prices Poised to Advance
By Brian L. Milne, Energy Editor, Schneider Electric Climbing wholesale gasoline costs through the week ended April 29 are set to end a downtrend in the US gasoline average reported weekly by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) , which has declined for eight consecutive weeks since posting a 2013 high in late February. Wholesale costs…
Shaken Economy Cannot Stir Gasoline Demand
Brian L. Milne, Energy Editor, Schneider Electric For six straight weeks, the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) retail gasoline price average has declined, down 17.6 cents or 4.7% from Feb. 25 when it reached $3.784 gallon, which is currently the high for 2013. Considering sharp selling activity during the second week of April, the February high…
U.S. Gasoline Prices Pause Ascent—Renewed Advance Awaits
By Brian L. Milne, Energy Editor, Schneider Electric For the first time since the middle of December, the U.S. average price for regular grade gasoline moved lower according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly survey, pressured by worries over economic growth and the effect on fuel demand, along with lower asking prices by suppliers…
U.S. Retail Gasoline Average 5% Shy of 2012 High
Brian L. Milne, Energy Editor, Schneider Electric As February nears an end, retail gasoline prices are already at highs one would expect when the weather warms, not when some parts of the country are still digging out of snow drifts. A recent double-digit jump in the retail average reported by the Energy Information Administration means…
Futures Surge Push up Wholesale Gasoline Costs
By Brian L. Milne, Energy Editor, Schneider Electric In futures trading, the nearest delivered New York Mercantile Exchange RBOB (reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending) contract surged 17.82 cents or 6.2% from Jan. 25 to Feb. 1, with supplier postings at terminals serving major metropolitan markets up sharply, reflecting some of that increase from paper trading.…