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United States refiners' Q2 earnings fall on low margins, soft fuel need

U.S. oil refiners are anticipated to report dramatically lower 2nd quarter revenues from a. year ago after a listless summer driving season that damaged. refining margins, energy analysts stated.

Refiners increase processing capacity in the three months. ended June 30 to 93.5%, compared with 91% in the prior-year. period, to satisfy an expected spike in fuel and diesel fuel. need that ultimately failed, according to the Energy. Info Administration.

Rising diesel stocks over the quarter, sustained by brand-new. refineries in the Middle East and higher exports from China,. shrunk refining margins and cut into revenues, experts stated.

Refining cracks weakened through the 2nd quarter, TD. Cowen expert Jason Gabelman stated. It captured financiers off. guard.

BP and Exxon Mobil stated previously this month. that lower refining margins, in part due to weak fuel costs,. would have an unfavorable impact on their second-quarter outcomes. The business report on July 30 and Aug. 2, respectively.

The U.S. gas crack spread, which is the distinction. between gas and crude oil futures, fell to. $ 22.02 a barrel in June, the lowest since February. The diesel. fracture spread << HOc1-CLc1 > traded at a two-year low of $22.22 a. barrel in June.

Valero Energy, which is the second-largest U.S. refiner by capability, is set to kick off refiner incomes on. Thursday, with experts anticipating revenues of $2.60 per share,. down from $5.40 a year ago, according to data from LSEG.

Shares of Valero are down around 14% because the end of the. first quarter, reducing earlier gains.

Marathon Petroleum, which is the top U.S. refiner by. volume, is anticipated to report per share revenue of $3.22 on Aug. 6, compared with $5.32 a year ago, according to LSEG quotes.

Phillips 66, on the other hand, is expected to report. incomes at the end of the month of $1.98 per share, compared. with $3.87 a year back, LSEG estimated.

Looking ahead, a mix of soft gasoline need and. higher global diesel supply might persist and continue to restrict. margins in the coming months.

Operators on the U.S. West Coast might be forced to scale. back refinery runs in response to the poor margin environment,. said Matthew Blair, downstream research director at financial. company Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Co.

. U.S. West Coast's refinery margins for fuel and diesel. fell below average this spring, according to the EIA.

With summertime coming to a close, demand will fall even more. Not much to look forward to for refiners, said Patrick De Haan,. a petroleum expert at GasBuddy.com.

(source: Reuters)