Price changes for Thursday, August 15th, 2019

Hi to all,



Here’s what I have for this Thursday’s price changes:



*Heating and stove oil to drop by 2.2 cents a litre.

*Diesel fuel to drop by 2.3 cents a litre, and...

*Gasoline to drop by 4.1 cents a litre.



Market highlights



US-China tariff argument

Everyone has been waiting for some sort of break in the trade and tariff war between the US and China.

     The U.S blinked today...

     The U.S Trade Representative office announced today that it would hold back on the placement of tariffs on some ten percent of Chinese goods that includes everything from electronics like laptops and cellular devices.

     Other goods, like toys, will not see any tariffs added until December 15^th, which effectively means well after goods are shipped from China ahead of the Christmas season.

     China had been pondering cutting off sales of US shale oil to add another dimension to the tariff and trade war.

      Both the US and China have agreed to terms to begin talks again in two weeks time.



US inventories surprise

Wednesday last week saw the release of inventory data from the US Energy Information Administration that held a surprise for some expecting a draw on supplies.

     US crude inventories increased last week by 2.4 million barrels, while gasoline inventories also went into positive territory, adding 4.4 million barrels.

     Distillate inventories were also up, adding 1.5 million barrels.

     Refiner capacity was recorded at 96.4 percent, the highest of the summer season.

     Those factors helped drop oil and refined product prices lower in the past week before Wednesday’s rebound in crude prices.



That’s it for this week!



Regards,



George Murphy

Twitter @GeorgeMurphyOil 

Price changes for Thursday, August 8th, 2019

Hi to all,



Here’s what I have for this week’s price changes:



*Heating and stove oil show a drop of 1.4 cents a litre.

*Diesel also shows downward by 1.4 cents, and...

*Gasoline shows a drop of 2.8 cents a litre.



Market highlights



US-China trade and tariff dispute deepens

The US and China trade dispute continues to play in the markets this week as the US promises more tariffs on Chinese goods totaling $300 billion dollars and with the Chinese retaliating with cutting off markets to agricultural products from the US.

     Already, some are fearing a deepening slowdown in China for oil as attention has quickly turned from Middle East tensions to a worsening of relations to the world super economic powers.

     Oil prices have suffered as a result with Brent crude dropping close to $5 US a barrel over the last week bringing Brent prices to their lowest in seven months.



In the Middle East

While things have been rocking between China and the US, tensions in the Middle East have taken a back seat to the economic dispute with the British now increasing security around tankers in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.



US Inventories

US inventory data from the Energy Information Administration showed that crude oil stocks continue to drop as refiner capacity keeps up with demand. Crude supplies dropped 8.5 million barrels while gasoline stocks showed a drop of 1.8 million barrels.

     Distillate inventories dropped 900,000 barrels on refiner capacity of 93 percent.

     The next inventory data will be released noon Newfoundland time.



That’s it for this week!



Regards,



George Murphy

Twitter @GeorgeMurphyOil