All 13 members of OPEC saw their production rise by just 153,000 barrels per day.
OPEC’s collective production rose to 28.648 million bpd in April.
Saudi Arabia, raised its production by 127,000 bpd to 10.346 million bpd in April.
OPEC continues to undershoot its oil production target in the OPEC+ deal, failing in April to boost output as much as required by the agreement. All 13 members of OPEC – including Iran, Libya, and Venezuela exempted from the OPEC+ deal – saw their production rise by just 153,000 barrels per day (bpd) collectively, to 28.648 million bpd in April, the organization’s Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) showed on Thursday. The top three OPEC producers, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the UAE, saw the highest increases in their respective oil production last month, while output in Libya plunged by 161,000 bpd to below 1 million bpd, at 913,000 bpd, according to OPEC’s secondary sources. Libyan oilfields and terminals have again been under blockade in recent weeks amid protests, clashes, and disputes over the distribution of oil revenues in the country with two rival governments, with incumbent Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah refusing to step down for newly sworn-in eastern Prime Minister Fathi Bashaga. Excluding Libya and the other two producers exempted from the OPEC+ deal, the ten OPEC members bound by the agreement saw their collective production at 24.464 million bpd in April, OPEC’s figures showed. This compares with a collective quota for OPEC-10 of 25.315 million bpd for last month.
The gap is more than 800,000 bpd, mostly due to severe underperformance from African members Angola and Nigeria, which have been pumping 300,000 bpd-400,000 bpd below quotas each, for months, due to a lack of investment and capacity.
Per OPEC’s secondary sources, the biggest OPEC producer, Saudi Arabia, raised its production by 127,000 bpd to 10.346 million bpd in April, versus a quota nearly 100,000 bpd higher – 10.436 million bpd. The Kingdom, however, self-reported to OPEC higher production, one of 10.441 million bpd.
Secondary sources showed that OPEC’s second-largest producer, Iraq, boosted production by 103,000 bpd to 4.405 million bpd, nearly reaching its April quota of 4.414 million bpd. Last week, the wider OPEC+ group agreed to leave its production plan unchanged, aiming to boost crude oil production in June by 432,000 bpd, in a move widely expected by the market. While OPEC+ is sticking to its policy of modest monthly increases, many of its members are not pumping to their quotas and the group is estimated to be around 1.5 million bpd below its quota. NN: the market is grossly undersupplied. Do not kid yourself we are seeing a seventies style oil embargo. AND their will be shortages and rationing….
Russia has slammed Finland’s announcement that it could apply to join the Western military alliance NATO in a matter of days.
“Russia will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature, in order to stop threats to its national security arising,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Russia shares an 830-mile long border with Finland. If it does join the military alliance, the land border that Russia shares with NATO territories would roughly double.
Russia has slammed Finland’s plans to apply to join NATO imminently, claiming it would “be forced” to retaliate if the long-neutral country joined the military alliance. “Finland joining NATO is a radical change in the country’s foreign policy,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday. “Russia will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature, in order to stop threats to its national security arising.” The statement comes shortly after Finland’s president, Sauli Niinisto, and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said the country should apply to join NATO “without delay.” It’s is the strongest sign yet that Finland will make a formal application to join NATO. Membership would be historic for the Nordic country, which has had a decadeslong policy of military neutrality. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 has shifted countries like Finland’s and Sweden’s calculus on NATO membership, with the latter also seriously considering lodging an application to join the alliance. Niinisto said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had changed Finland’s security situation although there was no immediate threat. “NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security,” the leaders said in their statement, adding that membership would in turn “strengthen the entire defence alliance.”
There are fears that further expansion of NATO — one of Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s biggest bugbears — could prompt an aggressive response from Russia, which shares an 830-mile long border with Finland.
As such, if Finland does join the military alliance, the land border that Russia shares with NATO territories would roughly double. Russia has land borders with 14 countries and five of them are NATO members: Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Norway. Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday claimed that “the goal of NATO, whose member countries vigorously convinced the Finnish side that there was no alternative to membership in the alliance, is clear — to continue expanding towards the borders of Russia, to create another flank for a military threat to our country.” Russia has insisted that Finland’s policy of military nonalignment “served as the basis for stability” in Northern Europe but that now, “Helsinki must be aware of the responsibility and consequences of such a move.” Russia said that Finland joining NATO would violate a previous agreement, which it said “provides for the obligation of the parties not to enter into alliances or participate in coalitions directed against one of them.” It also said the 1992 accord would also be violated. “We will react according to the situation,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry concluded in its statement. NN: Putin is right, by agreement this was not suppose to happen. It is incredibly stupid to ratchet up tensions between Russia and Europe. To end a conflict you do just the opposite. Remember NATO and the European Union did not want to have any part of the corrupt Ukraine……. To cause WWIII over this idiot is a price to high……
U.S. oil stockpiles rose in the latest week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude oil inventories rose 8.487 million barrels last week, compared with analysts’ expectations for a draw of 0.457 million barrels.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 0.913 million barrels in the week against expectations for a draw of 1.312 million barrels, the EIA data showed.
Gasoline inventories dropped by 3.607 million barrels last week, the EIA said, compared with expectations for a draw of 1.574 million barrels. NN: the crude oil inventory build is a nothing burger. That shit oil went to Europe its no help to America. The disaster is the distillate, gasoline inventory drop. This time of year that should be a build. Prepare yourself for $10 a gallon gasoline…..
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates resumed their ascent this week, as the key 30-year loan reached its highest point since 2009. The increases came in the week preceding the widely anticipated action by the Federal Reserve, announced Wednesday, to intensify its fight against the worst inflation in 40 years by raising its benchmark interest rate by a half-percentage point and signaling further large rate hikes to come. The Fed’s move, its most aggressive since 2000, will bring higher costs for mortgages as well as credit cards, auto loans and other borrowing for individuals and businesses. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate rose to 5.27% from 5.1% last week, when it edged down after seven weeks of increases. By contrast, the average rate stood at 2.96% a year ago. The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular among those refinancing their homes, jumped to 4.52% from 4.4% last week. With inflation at a four-decade high, rising mortgage rates, elevated home prices and tight supply of homes for sale, homeownership has become less attainable, especially for first-time buyers. Some economists suggest that home sales this year could decline as much as 10% from 2021 levels. In a statement Wednesday following their two-day meeting, Fed policymakers noted that Russia’s invasion and war on Ukraine is worsening inflation pressures by raising oil and food prices. Inflation, according to the Fed’s preferred gauge, reached 6.6% last month, the highest in four decades. It has been accelerated by a combination of robust consumer spending, chronic supply bottlenecks and sharply higher gas and food prices. NN: mortgage payments are doubling. Talk about a deal killer. Remember this is just the start, I could see rates approaching 10%… Housing bubble crash anyone?
Apple Is No Longer the World’s Most Valuable Company.. Its now Saudi Aramco
Oil is emerging as mightier than tech amid the turbulence that has defined financial markets the past few months. Saudi Aramco, the state-backed producer, has toppled Apple , the maker of iPhones and Mac computers, off its top spot as the world’s most valuable company. The oil giant rose to a near-record high Wednesday with a market capitalization of $2.4 trillion, pushing it ahead of Apple , which fell more than 5% to just below that level. Apple AAPL–5.18% (ticker: AAPL) shares have declined almost 20% this year, while Aramco has gained 28%. Saudi Aramco (2222.SA) last surpassed the value of Apple in 2020. The company with the monopoly on extracting crude from Saudi Arabia, home to the world’s second-biggest reserves, has benefited from the surge in oil prices since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. That’s also helped shares of U.S. producers Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and Occidental Petroleum (OXY). Meanwhile, Apple has lost ground as faster inflation forced the Federal Reserve into action. Rising interest rates have battered technology stocks, dragging the Nasdaq down 25% in 2022 so far.Brent crude, the international standard, traded down 1.9% on Thursday at $105.49 on concerns that an economic slowdown will curb fuel demand. But it is up more than 50% from a year ago. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, was down 2% at $103.45.
As the European Union warns companies against paying for Russian gas in rubles, Italy’s prime minister has stated the opposite, saying that European companies are free to pay in Russian currency without finding themselves in breach of sanctions that lack clarity.
“There is no official pronouncement of what it means to breach sanctions,” Draghi said during a press conference on Wednesday, as reported by Bloomberg. “Nobody has ever said anything about whether ruble payment breach sanctions.”
The Italian prime minister also claimed that “most of the gas importers” had already opened ruble accounts with Russian Gazprom. On Tuesday, VNG, one of Germany’s largest importers of natural gas, reportedly opened a ruble account with Russian Gazprombank, which will see its euro payment converted into rubles in line with Russia’s scheme to bypass sanctions. VNG was the second German company to have done this. In pril, German Uniper also said it was preparing the necessary accounts for the ruble payments. The scheme, devised by Russia, envisions national gas purchasers opening two separate accounts with Gazprombank–one in euros or dollars and a second in rubles. Payments are made to the first account and then converted to rubles and transferred to the second account. The Italian prime minister’s statement comes as the bloc’s biggest buyers of Russian natural gas await clear instructions. As of Wednesday, the EU had yet to issue any specific protocols for paying for Russian gas. Existing guidelines remain vague, and the only warnings so far have been verbal.
“To pay in rubles — if this is not foreseen in the contract — is a breach of our sanctions,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said two weeks ago. “Companies with such contracts should not accede to the Russian demands.”
Several EU countries will have to renew supply contracts with Gazprom by the end of this month. NN: Look is their any alternative… The EU will cave in or see their lights go out and their factories shut down. Its a proven fact solar and wind can not supply the needed energy
The Biden administration canceled one of the most high-profile oil and gas lease sales pending before the Department of the Interior Wednesday, as Americans face record-high prices at the pump, according to AAA. The DOI halted the potential to drill for oil in over 1 million acres in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, along with two lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. The move comes as Biden has taken a few actions to combat high gas prices, despite his administration’s generally hostile approach to the oil industry. A DOI spokesperson cited a “lack of industry interest in leasing in the area” for the decision “not to move forward” with the Cook Inlet lease sale, CBS News reported. The spokesperson also said the department canceled the Gulf of Mexico leases – lease 259 and lease 261 – due to “conflicting court rulings that impacted work on these proposed lease sales.” Gas prices have soared by 50% nationwide over the past year. Federal law requires DOI to stick to a five-year leasing plan for auctioning offshore leases. The department had until the end fo the current five-year plan – due to expire on June 30 – to complete the sales. Within his first week in office, President Biden signed an executive order temporarily suspending new oil and gas leases on federal lands. The administration resumed the new leasing last month following court challenges against the ban. The administration is appealing a ruling in which Judge James Cain, a Trump appointee, struck down the ban. The Washington, D.C., District Court invalidated another Gulf of Mexico lease, lease 257, in January. The administration is not appealing the ruling, though it affects a separate lease from the ones the DOI spokesperson mentioned Wednesday. Steve Milloy, a former Trump-Pence EPA transition member and founder of JunkScience.com, traced these lease cancelations back to President Biden in remarks to FOX Business Wednesday. “In Alaska, the problem was that the greens scared off virtually everyone,” Milloy said. “It’s expensive to explore and drill, and the greens made it pretty clear, they were going to make it even more difficult.” When former President Trump opened Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling, the lease sale attracted only three bidders, including the state of Alaska itself. “I blame Biden for all lack of production. He has scared away investment,” Milloy told FOX Business. “I don’t trust him in court defending leasing,” he added, suggesting that the president will find “any excuse to not drill. They even tried to use the social cost of carbon decision to stop leasing.” Average gas prices in the U.S. have reached new record-highs in recent days, according to AAA’s gas price calculator. The national average cost of a regular gas of gasoline hit $4.374 on Tuesday, a new record, and $4.404 on Wednesday, another record. The prices come as the European Union edges toward oil sanctions on Russia amid the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. It also comes amid record-high inflation, with the consumer price index reaching 8.3% in April, hovering near March’s 40-year high.
Biden wind far auction draws record $$.37 in bids
WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – The Biden administration’s sale of offshore wind development rights off the coasts of New York and New Jersey drew a record $4.37 billion in high bids from developers that included major European energy companies. The auction, which began on Wednesday and stretched into Friday afternoon, is the first offshore wind lease sale under U.S. President Joe Biden, who sees the expansion of the industry as a way to tackle climate change and create jobs.The administration has set a goal to install some 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030 along the nation’s coastlines and several states, including New York and New Jersey, have set ambition mandates for clean power adoption. “This week’s offshore wind sale makes one thing clear: The enthusiasm for the clean energy economy is undeniable and it’s here to stay,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. The auction’s scale marks a major step forward for offshore wind power in the United States, which has lagged European nations in developing the technology. Currently, the United States has just two small offshore wind facilities, off the coasts of Rhode Island and Virginia, along with two additional commercial-scale projects recently approved for development. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which oversees energy development in federal waters, offered six leases across 488,201 acres (197,568 hectares) between New York’s Long Island and New Jersey, an area known as the New York Bight. By the end of the auction, total high bids on the six blocks amounted to $4.37 billion. That is more than three times the revenue received from all U.S. offshore oil and gas lease auctions over the past five years.The top bidder was Bight Wind Holdings LLC, a joint venture between Germany’s largest power producer RWE (RWEG.DE) and Britain’s National Grid (NG.L), which won a single 125,964-acre parcel for $1.1 billion. Other winning bidders included Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Bight LLC, a fifty-fifty joint venture between Shell New Energies US LLC (SHEL.L) and EDF Renewables North America (EDF.PA), whose parent companies are European energy giants. An offshore energy industry group, the National Ocean Industries Association, said the auction reflected optimism among offshore wind developers of strong future demand. “The record-shattering interest in the New York Bight lease sale is testament to how bright the American offshore wind outlook is and how confident developers are in the strength of the U.S. offshore wind industry as a whole,” said Erik Milito, president of NOIA. Not everyone supports offshore wind development. The Biden administration’s ambitions have stoked concerns among commercial fishermen and coastal communities about harm to their livelihoods and property values. In January, a group of New Jersey residents sued BOEM over its leasing plans for the New York Bight. The group, from the summer colony of Long Beach Island, is concerned about the aesthetic impacts of the turbines and potential lost tourism. Commercial scallop fishermen in the region are also worried that the construction of offshore projects will hurt scallop populations and complicate navigation.NN: their has never been a offshore wind farm that has ever made any money. Two problems the wind does not blow enough and they are a maintained nightmare. Wire and electricity does not like salt water. Proven oil well energy production is a 100 year winner. Government makes a 20% royalty. No wind farm anywhere in the world has ever paid a royalty or justified its costs.In fact they are heavily subsidized. But why let the facts get in the way.
Inflation rose again in April, continuing a climb that has pushed consumers to the brink and is threatening the economic expansion, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of prices for goods and services, increased 8.3% from a year ago, higher than the Dow Jones estimate for an 8.1% gain. That represented a slight ease from March’s peak but was still close to the highest level since the summer of 1982. Removing volatile food and energy prices, so-called core CPI still rose 6.2%, against expectations for a 6% gain, clouding hopes that inflation had peaked in March. The month-over-month gains also were higher than expectations — 0.3% on headline CPI vs. the 0.2% estimate and a 0.6% increase for core, against the outlook for a 0.4% gain. The price gains also meant that workers continued to lose ground. Real wages adjusted for inflation decreased 0.1% on the month despite a nominal increase of 0.3% in average hourly earnings. Over the past year, real earnings have dropped 2.6% even though average hourly earnings are up 5.5%. Inflation has been the single biggest threat to a recovery that began early in the pandemic and saw the economy in 2021 stage its biggest single-year growth level since 1984. Rising prices at the pump and in grocery stores have been one problem, but inflation has spread beyond those two areas into housing, auto sales and a host of other areas. Federal Reserve officials have responded to the problem with two interest rate hikes so far this year and pledges of more until inflation comes down to the central bank’s 2% goal. However, Wednesday’s data shows that the Fed has a big job ahead. The CPI gains came even though energy prices declined 2.7% for the month, including a 6.1% drop for gasoline. ( NB: Since the polling for this report energy prices have hit new record highs) The BLS food index rose 0.9% in April, countering the deceleration in energy. On a 12-month basis, energy costs were still up 30.3% while food rose 9.4%, according to unadjusted data.Gasoline costs at the pump this week reached their highest level ever not adjusted for inflation. “We’re starting to see energy pull back a little bit, but it’s not enough,” said Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab. “The markets were hoping for a better number and it’s not good enough to rule out more Fed tightening.” Adding to worries is the continuing rise in housing costs.
The shelter index, which makes up about one-third of the CPI weighting, increased another 0.5%, consistent with its rise over the previous two months, and was up 5.1% on a yearly basis, its fastest gain since April 1991.
The April report showed that “this is another upward inflation surprise and suggests that the deceleration is going to be painstakingly slow,” said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors. Airline fares continued their climb as more people take to the skies amid increased business travel and vacations. Prices rose 18.6% on the month and are up, according to unadjusted data, 33.3% over the past year. Auto sales also have been a big contributor to inflation as supply chain issues, especially with the semiconductors vital to vehicle operating systems, have pushed prices up. Used vehicle prices fell 0.4% on the month but new vehicle prices rose 1.1%. Prices rose 22.7% and 13.2% for the two categories respectively over the past year. April also saw big price increases across selected food areas. Chicken was up 3.4% and eggs surged 10.3% amid a bird flu scare, while Bacon rose 2.5% and breakfast cereal was up 2.4% Ham prices fell 1.8%. NN: this report is a unmitigated disaster. Inflation is embedded and out of control. It is a crises of epic proportions, As the FED becomes more desperate and their hope for the best, Doctoral analysis telling them its not a crises goes up in a puff of inflation smoke they will be forced to do what they have avoided for the past year. that is stop stimulating the economy and raise rates to at least 8%. And this will drive the US economy into a depression . Which is well deserved…. A stock market crash and real estate and debt wipe out…… I can’t wait.
Persistently low investment in conventional energy sources risks leaving the world running out of spare production capacity for crude oil, refined products, and natural gas, the energy ministers of two of OPEC’s top producers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said on Tuesday. Officials from the oil and gas producing countries in the Middle East have been warning for months—even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine—that recent low investments in new fields and production capacity would lead to dwindling energy capacity production once the global economy recovers from the COVID slump of 2020. At a conference in Abu Dhabi today, the Saudi Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said that “The world needs to wake up to an existing reality.” “The world is running out of energy capacity at all levels,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said, as carried by Bloomberg. Not enough investment in global refining capacity is one of the key drivers of the global rally in gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel prices, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday, reiterating the Kingdom’s view that a rushed transition to cleaner energy fails to take into account realities. If the industry is discouraged from investments, this will lead to a lack of supply, which will translate into inflation, and that will affect the end consumer, the minister said at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh. At the Tuesday conference in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said that OPEC+ may not be able to guarantee enough supply when the world fully recovers from the COVID crash in demand. The UAE minister also said that the extreme volatility in the oil market in recent weeks is the result of some buyers boycotting certain crudes; it is not connected with OPEC+ and is outside the alliance’s control, in an apparent reference to the boycott of Russian oil from Western buyers. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are actually the only two oil producers believed to have sufficient spare oil production capacity, but they are unwilling to tap it, saying the market is balanced and any extreme volatility is the result of geopolitical factors. NN: I hate the Ivy league Universities…. Talk about resting on your Laurels. Reality is the liberal lefties have taken over academia…. An they are destroying imperfect democracy and the free enterprise system. Their replacement will be far worse and will lead to poverty and famine. All the major University endowment funds, Major banks and State retirement funds have taken a pledge not to fund fossil fuel development. Just like Europe the collective idiots believe wind, solar and green hydrogen will save the day. It ain’t gonna happen. Yes we need to get off the fossil fuel addiction. But if you try to do it cold turkey you will kill the patient….. I DO NOT GIVE A SHIT!! I have been energy self sufficient for decades.
The highest inflation in the U.S. in four decades is set to persist and even increase in the coming months as the price of diesel is at record highs amid very tight domestic inventories and a global shortage of supply. Diesel is used in every part of the industrial activity and supply chain, from goods transportation to manufacturing and agriculture; it fuels America’s economy. Diesel prices have soared to record highs in recent months, adding further upward pressure on U.S. inflation figures. The exceptionally tight diesel market at home and abroad is unlikely to ease any time soon, considering the post-COVID demand from industry and for leisure and travel, as well as the reduced supply of diesel, other fuels, and crude oil from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and the bans on Russian imports or self-sanctioning of buyers in the West to buy Russian energy goods. The national average U.S. diesel prices were at a record $5.540 per gallon on Monday, per AAA data, more than $1.20 a gallon over the average gasoline price, and up from $3.111 at this time of the year in 2021. “Not only are diesel prices at a record high, they are at their largest differential to gasoline on record, surpassing the 98-cent difference in 2008 and currently standing at a $1.20 per gallon premium. While motorists filling with gasoline have seen a slight rise in prices, diesel’s surge will be a double whammy as diesel prices will soon be passed along to retail channels, further pushing up the cost of goods,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a weekly commentary on Monday. A week earlier, De Haan commented that “For now, the rising cost of diesel will surely be felt in the grocery store, hardware store or on your next flight as jet fuel prices accelerate, leading to a continued rise in inflation likely to ripple across the economy.” The Fed is seeking to curb the rampant inflation, announcing last week the single largest interest rate hike in more than two decades, when it raised the key rate by 0.50 percentage point. “Inflation is much too high and we understand the hardship it is causing, and we’re moving expeditiously to bring it back down,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at the press conference following the monetary policy decision. “It is essential that we bring inflation down if we are to have a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all,” Powell added. In the Financial Stability Report published this week, the Fed noted that “inflation has been higher and more persistent than expected, even before the invasion of Ukraine, and uncertainty over the inflation outlook poses risks to financial conditions and economic activity.” “Further adverse surprises in inflation and interest rates, particularly if accompanied by a decline in economic activity, could negatively affect the financial system,” the Fed warned, adding that this combination could weaken the finances of both households and businesses, “leading to an increase in delinquencies, bankruptcies, and other forms of financial distress.” As diesel prices impact every part of the economy, the fight against inflation becomes more complicated for monetary policymakers, as steeper interest rate hikes could lead to the deterioration of economic activity and household spending and, ultimately, recession.
However, there is no short-term cure to the record diesel prices in the United States. Demand is going up, while inventories are at multi-year lows and at a record low on the U.S. East Coast.
Distillate fuel inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels in the last week of April and are about 22% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said in its latest weekly inventory report. At 105 million barrels, distillate inventories—which include diesel—are at their lowest since 2008. On the East Coast, there are at their lowest ever, as the refinery capacity in the region has halved over the past decade to just 818,000 barrels per day now. So, instead of focusing on boosting the production of gasoline in the summer driving season, this year U.S. refiners could be looking to raise diesel and jet fuel runs, as the global market of distillates is very tight following the Russian war in Ukraine and supports high refinery margins for those products. U.S. inventories are “very, very tight, especially tight for diesel,” Gary Simmons, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Valero Energy, said on the Q1 earnings call at the end of April. Valero Energy saw its highest-ever March refining margins this year, led by diesel, Simmons added. The global diesel crunch is expected to worsen if the EU reaches some kind of a compromise on banning Russian crude and oil product imports. This will keep diesel prices elevated, impacting every economic activity in the U.S. and elsewhere, and ultimately hitting consumers. Currently, diesel at New York harbor is trading at around $5 per gallon, which is well above $200 crude per barrel, Tom Kloza, head of global energy research at OPIS, told CNBC’s Pippa Stevens. “These are numbers that are not just off the charts. They’re off the walls, out of the building, and maybe out of the solar system,” Kloza told CNBC. NN: Either diesel fuel prices will come down or oil prices will go up. As you know i am a betting man…… up Up UP and away!
U.S. Gasoline Prices Hit All-Time High
Retail gasoline prices in the United States hit an all-time high this week, with the national average at $4.351 per gallon, GasBuddy’s Patrick DeHaan said on Twitter on Monday.
According to AAA, the national average as of the end of day Monday stood at $4.328 per gallon. A year ago, the national average for gasoline was $2.962 per gallon.
U.S. gasoline prices have been on the rise for several months now as demand rebounded strongly after the end of Covid lockdowns while production was slow to catch up.
