A round of profit taking sent gasoline and distillate futures lower Tuesday morning, narrowing some of the frothy profit margins refiners have seen for much of 2024.
Diesel came under particular pressure in morning trading, with the NYMEX April ULSD contract down by 5.36cts to $2.625/gal at midday. Still, that provides a diesel paper profit compared with West Texas Intermediate crude oil of more than $28/bbl, a remarkable margin by historical standards.
The weakness in futures followed through in East of the Rockies spot markets, where cash prices for the fuel were down by 4-7cts/gal.
The NYMEX April RBOB contract also saw some profit taking, down by 3.39cts to $2.7145/gal shortly before noon ET.
While spot gasoline prices East of the Rockies were 2.75-3.5cts/gal lower, values were rising in California. Los Angeles and San Francisco spot prices were up by 3-8cts/gal, with both venues seeing the highest wholesale numbers so far this year.
Crude trading was quieter. The NYMEX May WTI contract was 19cts higher at $82.14/bbl. The May Brent contract was nearly unchanged at $86.66/bbl and the more-active June Brent contract was down to $86.04/bbl.
Much of the market's attention was focused on Baltimore where waterborne and land logistics were snarled after a containership struck a support of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsing the structure.
Market sources said disruptions to the Port of Baltimore could potentially create problems in gasoline blending as the region is dependent on barges of ethanol from New York Harbor and Delaware City, Del.
At least one large refiner has already warned marketers to expect tighter supply of finished motor fuel.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Tom Kloza, tkloza@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-26-24 1241ET
