Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Price changes for Thursday, May 25, 2017

Here's what I have for Thursday:

*Heating and stove oils to increase by 1.7 cents a litre....
*Diesel fuel to increase by 2.5 cents a litre, and...
*Gasoline to increase by 2.6 cents a litre.



Market highlights

Gasoline continues to rise
Gasoline prices continued to rise this week as the US driving season approaches it's traditional start with the U.S Memorial Day weekend.
      While gasoline demand remains a little weak for this time of the year, speculators are all in with the rising prospects of anticipated demand as the weather starts to warm.
      Gasoline inventories reported last week showed a close balance between rising refinery capacity and a slightly less than expected drawdown on inventories.

OPEC members sign on
With the official OPEC meeting now just two days away, most OPEC members are starting to fall in to an extension of the production cuts agreement signed in November, to another deal ending in March of 2018.
      The agreement has helped oil prices rise in the last week from it's yearly low just two weeks ago.
      Both Brent and WTI prices have risen close on $3 US a barrel over the last week or so helping the rise in gasoline and distillate prices this week.

Trump leaves some wondering
Donald Trump's wish to cut into the US strategic reserve has some wondering, and some in concern for Trump's overall energy policy.
      While Trump wants to reduce the reserve by close on half, it leaves consumers at risk of skyrocketing prices should the US be hit with a string of supply cuts as the world saw with OPEC in the 2000's.
      The release of crude stocks from the US strategic reserve was used as an emergency stop-gap measure to bring some relief to rising oil prices then, as well as a source of oil in 2004-05 when the Gulf of Mexico region was devastated by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Oil was sent to centrally based US refineries to keep product flowing to consumers when off-loading and refining of crude was disrupted along the coast at that time.
      With nearly 690 million barrels in reserve in times of emergency, it leaves some to wonder why he would weaken the country's sway on oil prices should another emergency occur.

That's it for this week!

Regards,

George Murphy
Twitter @GeorgeMurphyOil

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