Refined Products

U.S. consumer price increases are likely to accelerate in August, as gasoline prices?rebound after two consecutive monthly declines. This would confirm financial market expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike next week. Labor Department's upcoming Consumer Price Index report will follow the Producer Price Index, which was released on Thursday. The Producer Price Index is the measure of inflation that the U.S. Central Bank uses to track its 2% inflation target. The Fed Governor Christopher Waller said at a NEXT Newsmaker Event that he would be inclined to maintain rates if the data showed that inflation pressures had cooled....

The price of oil rose on Friday, and both major benchmarks will 'end the week above $100 per barrel for the first time since mid-May. This is due to the increasing number of attacks on key shipping routes across the Middle East. Brent crude futures rose $1.05 or 1% to $108.68 per barrel at 0045 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude rose 95 cents or 1% to $103.45 per barrel. Both benchmarks were up over 6% Thursday. The benchmarks gained nearly 13% on a weekly basis - the biggest gain since the week ending July 17. The Houthis, who are...

According to four sources in the industry, Nigeria's Dangote Refinery has purchased at least 16,000,000 barrels of Nigerian crude oil for arrival in October. This is consistent with previous months, and significantly higher than average last year as Africa's biggest refinery ramps-up processing. Dangote has 16 million barrels of?oil, which is a combination of monthly allocations by Nigerian National Petroleum Company, and volumes purchased in a tender. This amounts to around 520,000 barrels / day. This is the majority of the refinery's?700,000.bpd monthly intake. Investors are focusing on the feedstock in preparation for an initial public offer. The purchases will...

Sethuraman, N. R. NEW DELHI, September 10 - Oil prices held steady on Thursday, after Brent crude surpassed $100 per barrel. Traders braced for further supply disruptions, as 'Iran and United States launched their biggest attacks?on shipping since the six-month conflict began. Brent crude futures fell by 0.1%, to $101.10 per barrel at 0256 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was $96.24 per barrel, an increase of 0.2%. Brent prices are up nearly 30% since the lows of early August. A permanent agreement between the U.S.A. and Iran on a cease-fire never materialised. Iran announced on Wednesday that it had...

The Venezuelan opposition-controlled boards that have supervised U.S.-based refiner Citgo Petroleum for ?the last seven years are preparing to ?wind down as soon as this ?month, ?following a shake-up by Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez, two sources involved in the preparations said. Rodriguez started preparing to take control of the refinery owned by Venezuela earlier this year after Washington recognized her government. Her government replaced Nicolas Maduro’s administration, after he had been captured by U.S. troops in January. According to U.S. courts filings, the interim president's administration replaced law firms who had previously?represented Venezuelan and state-run PDVSA oil company in...

The price of oil topped $100 per barrel for the first six-week period on Wednesday, as an escalation of fighting between U.S. forces and 'Iranian forces raised concerns about the supply coming from the region. This also heightened fears over inflationary pressures and increased energy costs. Brent, the global benchmark for oil, has increased by 25 percent since early last week as hope fades of a permanent solution to the six-month old U.S./Iran conflict. This week, the rally intensified after Iran-backed Houthi attacked Saudi energy installations and set them ablaze. The increased risk of disruptions spreading across the Gulf region...

Benchmark Brent crude oil futures surpassed $100 per barrel on Wednesday, reaching a six-week high. They also broke the symbolic barrier for the first since July 24, as the intensifying conflict in Middle East increased concerns about oil flow from the region. Brent crude futures rose $2.01 or 2.05% to $99.93 per barrel at 0802 GMT after touching $100.19 earlier. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude gained $1.49 or 1.60% to $94.52 per barrel. Brent crude prices are up by a quarter compared to early last month, as the hope for a permanent solution to the six-month old U.S./Iran conflict fades....

The New York Federal Reserve reported that the outlook of U.S. households for inflation remained unchanged in August as their?worries?about the job market?and the state of?their?personal finances grew. In the latest Survey of Consumer Expectations from the regional Fed bank, respondents held steady to their projections of inflation of 3.6% a year hence and 3% in five years. They also marked down inflation expectations in three years from 3.3% to 3.2%. The report stated that respondents in August predicted higher gasoline prices within a year. Although households' inflation expectations did not change much, their outlook for hiring and personal finances...

U.S. stocks fell Tuesday morning as the attacks on energy facilities in the Gulf drove oil prices to near $100 per barrel. After a long weekend of holidays, all three major U.S. indexes traded lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.21% in its first hour. The S&P500 fell by 0.49%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.52%. Brent crude oil jumped 1.32%, to $98.28 a barrel, the highest in six weeks. U.S. crude oil rose 2.11%, to $93.40 per barrel. The rise in oil prices came after Houthis, who are backed by Iran, attacked Saudi Arabian cities and energy...

The oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday as the risks of a long-term conflict in the Middle East increased after Iran threatened retaliation against any new U.S. attack on its assets. This heightened concerns over disruptions to supply. Brent crude futures rose 49 cents or 0.5% to $97.49 per barrel at 0400 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was $92.92 per barrel, up $1.44 or 1.6%. According to Suvro Sarkar, DBS Bank's head of energy analysis, WTI is playing catch up with Brent after the Labor Day holiday on Monday. Brent had absorbed the weekend's increase a day before....

China's crude oil imports by sea increased in August compared to July, but were still nearly 40% below levels prior to the Iran conflict. According to Kpler, China's largest oil importer saw seaborne arrivals increase from 6.93 million barrels a day in July to?7.14 million bpd in August. August's imports fell by 4.27 % below the average of 11,41 million bpd during the three months preceding the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, which took place on February 28. China is absorbing the majority of the Middle East's lower crude oil volumes, as its exports are falling due to the restricted flow...

The war in the Middle East is still driving up energy costs. Americans are facing record high gasoline prices for Labor Day Weekend, just as midterm Congressional election campaigns begin. Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy analyst, says that the national average gas price is likely to reach $4.03 per gallon on Labor Day. This will be a significant increase over the previous record of $3.83 set in 2012. De Haan, in a blog post, wrote that "Gasoline is not at all-time highs, but it's at the highest level ever recorded for this late in the year. This means Americans may see...

Donald Trump has said that he expects the war against Iran to end following the midterm elections in November. He also threatened to 'again' attack a nuclear site linked to the Islamic Republic after both sides launched their 'biggest wave of strikes on shipping since the beginning of the six-month war. Saudi civil defense authorities issued emergency alerts on Thursday in Khamis Mushait, a city in southwest Yemen, for the fourth consecutive day, after clashes with the Houthis, who are backed by Iran. Brent crude prices were above $100 per barrel, as both supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz...

* The global shortage of uranium has been eased by clandestine shipments Oil prices have risen because of the uncertainty over oil volumes * Difference between peak daily flows and the average Dmitry Zhdannikov & Anushree Mukerjee LONDON, September?9, - Estimates of Middle Eastern oil flows have been wildly varying since tankers started "dark crossings", meaning that they sail without transponder signals, to avoid Iranian attacks. The clandestine "shipments" have greatly increased supplies while the incertitude over their scope has added to the premium on international oil prices. Last week, U.S. Diesel prices reached a record high. Last week, the...

Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, has risen this month. However it has remained below $100 per barrel despite the recent escalation of the U.S. - Iran conflict which has caused disruptions in Gulf exports via the Strait of Hormuz or the Red Sea. According to Argus, Crude Oil?shipments are now at 11 million barrels a day (bpd), down from 18 million bpd prior to the Iran War seven months ago. What are the factors that influence oil prices? SIGNIFICANT VOLUMES CAN FLOW?THROUGH HORMIZ Claudio Galimberti, Rystad's Chief Economical Officer, stated that in the week prior to fighting...

The National Oil Corporation (NOC), a state-owned company, said in a press release that a remote-controlled 'drone' attack on a fuel depot in Tripoli, Libya, caused?minor damages. As a precaution, the NOC stated that teams of technical experts had started removing fuel from tanks. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and the authorities have not revealed who they believe was behind it. The attack caused minor damage to tanks and pipelines no. Ahmed Al-Masallati is the?spokesperson of Brega Petroleum Marketing, who are responsible for Libya's fuel supply. The incident had no impact on supply operations and there were...

Three sources 'close to the issue' told us that OPEC+ will likely keep its oil production?policy for October unchanged at a meeting this Sunday. The producer group has completed the unwinding one layer of cuts in production and is now focusing on 2027 quota negotiation. The Iran War continues to disrupt oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz. This reduces OPEC+’s influence on prices and market share. The group's decisions on supply now have less impact on the market than in the past. The meeting on Sunday will include seven core OPEC+ countries: Saudi Arabia (and Russia), Kuwait, Algeria and...

Energy Secretary Chris Wright of the United States said that after arriving in Venezuela on Tuesday, the oil companies in the U.S. as well as?other countries will sign deals in Caracas tomorrow that will result in a more-than-doubling in crude production over the next few year. Wright is in Venezuela for a day-long visit, his second trip since U.S. troops seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's office in January. Venezuelan oil production peaked at over 3 million barrels a day in the late 90s, but then plummeted due to a lack investment, poor management and U.S. sanction. In recent months, it...

Chris Wright, the U.S. Energy Secretary, said that after arriving in Venezuela on Tuesday that the 'deals' that oil companies from the U.S. The oil companies from the United States and other countries will sign deals in Caracas tomorrow that will result in a more-than-doubling of crude oil production over the next few decades. Wright is on a one day trip to Venezuela, the founding OPEC member. This is his second visit since U.S. troops seized Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro as leader in January. Venezuelan oil production peaked at over 3?million barrels a day in the late 1990s, but then?plummeted due...

The Iranian conflict has continued to affect the supply of refined petroleum products in Asia. In August, the region that consumes the most refined fuels saw its imports drop to their lowest level since the start of the war. Asia's imports of light and medium distillates were estimated at 5,10 million barrels a day (bpd), down from 5,61 million bpd during July, according to Kpler data, a commodities analyst. Imports are down by about 2 million bpd, compared to the 7.06 million bpd average in the three months prior to February 28, when Israel and the U.S. launched airstrikes against...

Japan's crude oil imports increased by 17% from the previous year in July, as a result of a surge in U.S. Official data released on Monday showed that?shipments, a resurgence in Saudi Arabian purchases and lower supplies from Middle Eastern producers were offset by a rise in?supplies. The Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry reported that imports increased to 2,38 million barrels a day (11.72 millions kilolitres) for the second consecutive month despite disruptions caused by the U.S./Israeli war against Iran. Imports to?the Middle East dropped 21.4% from July. The United Arab Emirates, Japan's two largest suppliers, and Saudi Arabia...

Asia's crude oil imports in August were still far below levels before the Iran conflict. This raises further questions about how much crude actually leaves the Middle East. According to Kpler's data, the top-importing continent will see an arrival of 23,12 million barrels per day (bpd) this August. This is a slight decrease from July, when 23.36 million bpd were expected. Imports have also fallen by almost?4 million bpd or 14% from the average of 26,91 million bpd for the three-month period ending in February. The United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on 28 February, prompting Tehran...

Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, invoked the 1944 D-Day landings of Allied forces in?France when announcing sanctions against Iran. The measures taken are superior to the much less successful Anzio Beachhead landing in Italy, which was another amphibious landing during World War II. Anzio was a battle that began with a successful landing of the Allies, but a lack of leadership led to the campaign stalling and turning into a long campaign of attrition. Bessent’s new measures are designed to choke Iran economically. They target companies and countries that do business with Iran in five different sectors: digital assets, technology...

Multiple trade sources reported on Monday that 'Iraqi state oil marketer SOMO and QatarEnergy are offering crude in rare tenders which require buyers to load their cargoes within the Strait of Hormuz. Sources said that SOMO offered September-loading Basrah Medium or Basrah Heavy Crude from Iraq's Basrah Oil Terminal or Single Point Mooring?and its related facilities. Iran's official news agency IRNA said that Baghdad had repeatedly requested permission to allow a number of Iraqi tankers to cross the Strait of Hormuz. The bids for Iraqi oil will close on the 26th of August. QatarEnergy, in addition to SOMO, has also...