Refined Products

Data from Canada's National Statistics Agency showed that retail sales in Canada rebounded during August, as consumers increased their spending on new cars, supermarkets, and clothing, among other things. Statista Canada reported that retail sales increased by 1% in August to C$70.40 Billion ($50.20 Billion) from a downwardly revised 0.7% drop in July. A preliminary estimate of September sales showed a likely decline of 0.7%. Analysts polled had predicted retail sales growth of 1.3% in August, excluding automotive and part sales. StatsCan's data shows that sales increased by 0.7% excluding the automotive category which accounts for as much as 28%...

Rosen Zhelyazkov, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, said that although U.S. sanctions have been imposed on Russia's Lukoil, which operates Bulgaria's largest refinery, there is still enough fuel to meet demand. The U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions against Russia's biggest oil companies Lukoil, and Rosneft over Moscow's conflict in Ukraine. This has sent global oil prices up and prompted India to cut Russian imports. Lukoil operates the Burgas refinery in Bulgaria which produces 190,000 barrels per day. It also has more than 200 petrol station and a network of fuel depots and transport. Zhelyazkov, speaking to journalists in...

Chemicals company Dow reported a smaller-than-expected adjusted quarterly loss in the third quarter on Thursday, as cost cuts and higher volumes from new U.S. Gulf Coast assets helped offset weakness in global chemical prices. In premarket trading, Dow shares were up 6.5% to $23,10. The company said that it had achieved more than half its $6.5 billion planned near-term cash assistance, including $1 billion of capital expenditure cuts and an accelerated delivery of costs reduction targets by the end of 2026. Jim Fitterling, Dow's CEO, said that Dow's cost-discipline and its new polyethylene and alkoxylation facilities in the U.S. Gulf...

Valero Energy, a U.S. refiner, surpassed Wall Street's expectations on Thursday for its third-quarter profits. This was due to a rebound in the refining margins. After two years of record profits, the refining margins rebounded in 2024 from their multi-year lows. This was due to refiners taking advantage of supply shortages that were caused by geopolitical tensions affecting Ukraine. U.S. refinery profit margins measured by the 3-2-1 Crack Spread In the third quarter, grew by nearly 29% in average compared to a year ago, aided by high diesel and gasoline margins, boosted both from robust demand and low inventory. The...

Enverus, an analytics firm, said that the persistently low crude oil prices in the US upstream oil sector impacted merger and acquisition activity during the third quarter. Dealmaking has fallen for the third consecutive quarter, as U.S. Crude Futures have averaged around $65, which is the price that producers claim they need to drill profitably. U.S. crude oil futures averaged $75 during the same quarter of last year. Deals worth $9.7 billion were disclosed in the quarter ended September 30, Enverus said, marking a 28% drop quarter-over-quarter. The decline in M&A activity comes after a series blockbuster takeovers of oil...

The oil prices rose for the second day in a row on Wednesday. They increased by more than 1 percent, boosted by supply risks related to sanctions and hopes of a U.S. China trade agreement. Investors also took note of news that the U.S. was seeking oil deliveries for its strategic reserves. Brent crude futures were up 94 cents or 1.5% to $62.26 a barrel as of 0400 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude futures were up 92 cents or 1.6% to $58.16. Oil prices have recovered from a five-month low, which was reached on Monday. Producers increased supply and...

The oil prices rose for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. This was boosted by supply risks related to sanctions, hopes for a U.S. China trade agreement, and news that America is looking for oil to fill its strategic reserves. Brent crude futures rose by 18 cents or 0.29% to $61.50 a barrel as of 1:37 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude futures climbed by 21 cents or 0.37% to $57.45. Oil prices have recovered from a five-month low that was hit on Monday. This bounce is due to producers pumping in more oil and trade tensions affecting demand. News...

Data released on Tuesday showed that Canada's inflation rate rose to 2.4% annually in September. This was mainly due to a lower decline in gasoline prices compared to the previous month, and an increase in food prices. The Bank of Canada will meet later this month to make its next monetary decision. Economists will closely monitor the report to determine when it might be time for another rate cut. Money markets have put a probability of 86% on a rate cut of 25 basis points on October 29. This would reduce the benchmark rate to 2.25%. The Canadian dollar rose...

Gold Reserve, a Toronto-listed company, accused the firms that advised a U.S. Court on the auction for Citgo Petroleum parent's parent that they received $170 million from parties who would receive proceeds and a bidder recommended as the winning party. These accusations are just the latest twist to an auction which has been dragging on for almost two years. They could also threaten to slow down further. The Delaware court began to discuss the fees on Monday following Gold Reserve's Motions earlier this month. Gold Reserve wanted to disqualify a judge and court officer overseeing the auction, as well as...

Sources in the trade said that two Indian refiners bought 4,000,000 barrels of Guyanese oil from Exxon Mobil, a U.S.-based major, to be delivered by the end of 2025, or early 2026. This is a rare import from the South American producer. Indian Oil Corp., the largest refiner in the country by capacity, purchased 2 million barrels (or a grade of crude oil called Golden Arrowhead) for its first purchase. The shipment will arrive late December or early January. Sources said that Hindustan Petroleum Corp., another refiner, had purchased Liza and Unity Gold for the first time. 2 million barrels...

Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals in India is looking for alternative oil sources that are sold at a discounted price, while still hoping to buy Russian oil. This was the statement made by its managing director Mundkur S. Kamath on Wednesday. Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra modi assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia. Russia is India's largest source of oil imports. Washington hopes to end the war in Ukraine by reducing revenue going to Moscow. Indian refiners are taking advantage of the reduced prices Russia is forced to accept after sanctions were imposed...

The oil prices increased by about 1% on Thursday morning after U.S. president Donald Trump announced that Indian Prime Minister Narendra modi had promised to stop purchasing oil from Russia. Russia supplies around one-third the country's imports. Brent crude futures increased 57 cents or 0.9% to $62.48 per barrel at 0046 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) also gained 0.9% or 54 cents to trade at $58,81. The two contracts reached their lowest levels since early May, in the previous session due to the U.S.-China tensions. Also, the International Energy Agency had warned that a large surplus would be...

Oil prices dropped for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, as fears about an excess of supply and the risks to demand resulting from tensions between China and the U.S., the two largest oil consumers in the world, weighed on the market. Brent crude futures were down 17 cents or 0.28% at $60.84 per barrel as of 0343 GMT. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which is due to expire Tuesday, fell 0.52% to $57.22. The December contract, which is more active, was down by 19 cents or 0.33% at $56.83. In Monday's session, prices fell to their lowest level...

Oil prices fell on Monday as a result of concerns over a global surplus. The escalating U.S. China trade tensions also added to worries about an economic slowdown. Brent crude futures dropped 24 cents or 0.4% at $61.05 a bar at 0032 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate futures were also down 21 cents or 0.4% at $57.33, erasing Friday's gains. The International Energy Agency has forecast a growing glut of supply in 2026, which is partly responsible for the declines. Toshitaka Takawa, an economist at Fujitomi Securities, said that fears of a slowdown in the economy due to escalating U.S....

Sources with knowledge of the issue said that India intends to reduce imports of liquefied gas from the Middle East, as its state refiners seek to increase purchases from the U.S. This will help New Delhi in its efforts to secure a wider trade agreement with Washington. Sources who spoke under condition of anonymity said that the state refiners had already informed their traditional LPG suppliers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates about the expected reduction in LPG sales. It is not clear how much LPG India will reduce from the Middle East, but a report in July...

Oil prices recovered some of their losses on Monday, after reaching a five-month low in the previous session. Investors hoped that potential talks between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping could ease tensions between trade between the two world's largest economies and oil users. Brent crude futures were up 87 cents or 1.39% to $63.60 per barrel at 0045 GMT, after falling 3.82% to their lowest level since May 7 on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was at $59.77 per barrel, up 87c or 1.48% after a 4.24% drop to reach its low since May 7....

Guyana's Attorney-General said that Azruddin Mohammed and Nazar Ahmed, two Guyanese entrepreneurs, would be extradited back to the United States, to face charges for fraud and money laundering in relation to gold exports. Last week, the businessmen who own the gold exporting firm Mohamed's Enterprise were indicted by a Florida court on charges of conspiracy and money laundering in order to enrich themselves as well as defrauding the government of Guyana. Azruddin Mohammed, a politician who founded his party three months before Guyana’s general elections in September, said to local media that he is assembling a team of lawyers to...

Angola has a complex network of pipelines that snake along the Atlantic coast. They lead to a new refinery, which signals Angola's drive for energy independence. It also shows how private lenders are being used instead of banks to finance a large-scale project. "We are not the lender last resort," said Felipe Berliner. He is the co-founder and CEO of Gemcorp, a emerging markets asset management company that provided the majority of the funding for the refinery using private capital. "Sometimes, we are the sole lender." Veteran investors said that private credit for emerging market countries -- driven by investors’...

Sources within the group stated that OPEC+ countries chose to only increase their November production modestly due to fears of a global glut. Non-OPEC oil supply is also increasing while fuel demand growth is slowing. The group announced on Sunday that it would increase its monthly production by 137,000 barrels a day in November. This is a continuation of the increases begun in April. Three OPEC+ source said that was the smallest option the group had discussed. They cited concerns over an upcoming surplus. OPEC declined comment. The Saudi Arabian government did not reply to a comment request. Jorge Leon,...

Oil prices were steady on Tuesday, with sentiment toward a smaller-than-anticipated OPEC+ output hike dulled by weakening global demand and the potential for a supply glut. Brent crude futures rose 1 cent or 0.02% to $65.48 per barrel at 0014 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was unchanged at $60.69 per barrel. Both contracts were settled at a higher level than the previous session. Crude oil prices rose after OPEC announced a production increase that was smaller than expected. Oil market analysts had been expecting a significant increase in quotas as the members of the group met over the weekend...

Oil prices rose Thursday, ending a three-day loss streak and recovering from 16-week-lows, on the prospect of tighter sanctions against Russian crude. However, expectations of a higher supply due to an OPEC+ production boost next month capped the gains. Brent crude futures rose 15 cents or 0.2% to $65.50 per barrel at 0116 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude climbed by 14 Cents, or 0.2% to $61.92 per barrel. Brent and WTI lost about 1% on Wednesday. Brent closed at its lowest level since June 5, and WTI reached its lowest level since May 30. As WTI approached its $60...

Oil prices fell by nearly 1% Monday, after the Kurdistan region of Iraq resumed crude exports through Turkey at the weekend. OPEC+ also plans to increase oil production in November. Brent crude futures dropped 63 cents or 0.90% to $69.50 per barrel at 0023 GMT, after Friday's settlement, which was the highest since July 31, had been reached. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was trading at $65.07 per barrel, down 65c or 0.99%. This is a significant reversal of Friday's gains. Michael McCarthy, CEO Moomoo Australia & New Zealand, said that "ongoing fears of increased production are limiting gains but...

Trade sources reported on Tuesday that the arbitrage window for shipping U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude to Asia has shrunk as tanker rates have risen, and strong export demand has pushed up premiums for this grade to multi-month heights. The U.S. Asia arbitrage opened in late summer, and the demand for Very Large Crude Carriers to make this two-month journey prompted a tightening of vessel supply. Kpler's preliminary data shows that U.S. imports into Asia will increase in September. South Korea and India are the top buyers. The first shipment of U.S. oil for Pakistan's biggest refiner Cnergyico, and the...

The oil price rose on Monday, mainly due to geopolitical tensions in Europe and Middle East. However, the prospect of increased oil supply and concerns about trade tariffs impacting global fuel demand also weighed. Brent crude futures were up 28 cents or 0.42% to $66.96 a barrel by 0118 GMT, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was at $62.88 a barrel, an increase of 20 cents or 0.32%. Michael McCarthy, CEO Moomoo Australia & New Zealand's investment platform, said: "Reports from the weekend that Russia threatened over the Polish border reminded traders of the continuing risks to European energy safety...