Crude oil and refined product futures were down sharply shortly after midday Tuesday as markets pulled back on a report that showed U.S. inflation rate remains higher than expected.
Crude contracts were down by about $1/bbl as of 12:30 p.m. ET, while gasoline and diesel futures were several cents lower.
The NYMEX June RBOB contract was off by 5.02cts to $2.4603/gal and the July contract was 4.67cts lower at $2.45/gal. The NYMEX June ULSD contract was 2.63cts lower at $2.4105/gal and the July contract was down by 2.67cts to $2.4264/gal.
The NYMEX June West Texas Intermediate contract was $1.16 lower at $77.96/bbl and July WTI was down $1.06 to $77.54/bbl. July Brent crude was off $1.07 to $82.29/bbl and the August prices was down by $1.04 to $81.87/bbl.
Energy prices have been under pressure since the end of April, as U.S. demand remains disappointing heading into the summer driving season.
Economic news added to the demand headwinds on Tuesday after the Department of Labor reported the Producer Price Index rose 0.5% in April, leaving prices up by 2.2% year to year, higher than had been expected. Also on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that persistent inflation will likely mean the central bank will hold off on cutting interest rates.
Tuesday's futures losses were weighing on spot gasoline and diesel prices. Cash gasoline prices in most markets were off by 3-5cts/gal, while spot distillate prices in most markets were largely mirroring weaker futures. Group 3 diesel, however, was an outlier, with declines of more than 7cts/gal.
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 Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-14-24 1321ET
