Nymex Overview: Mideast-Driven Petroleum Rally Wilts After Bearish EIA Data — OPIS

Crude and refined product futures sharply pared gains by midday Wednesday, after bearish U.S. data by the Energy Information Administration put a lid on a rally fueled by intense fears of a wider war between Israel and Iran that could threaten global oil supply.

At 11:55 a.m. ET, November NYMEX West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 40cts to about $70.25/bbl, and December WTI increased 40cts to $69.80/bbl.

London-based ICE Brent crude for December delivery climbed 30cts to $73.90/bbl and January Brent was also 30cts higher at $73.60/bbl.

In early Wednesday morning trade, both crude benchmarks rallied more than $2/bbl. They also settled $1-2/bbl higher on Tuesday.

November NYMEX RBOB futures edged up 0.55cts to $1.9720/gal, and December RBOB increased 0.40cts to $1.9450/gal. The November ULSD contract was 0.75cts higher at $2.1820/gal, and December ULSD gained 0.90cts to $2.1955/gal.

Both gasoline and diesel futures were up 5-8cts in the early session.

At the wholesale level, the large price swings in NYMEX product futures triggered above-average number of rack price moves for gasoline and diesel.

Fuel retailers tend to send tanker trucks to oil terminals to avoid paying more in anticipation of further rack price increases.

The latest EIA data showed a 3.9-million-bbl increase in U.S. commercial crude oil inventories as well as substantially lower demand for the week ended Friday. Gasoline stocks also gained 1.1 million bbl while distillate inventories dropped 1.3 million bbl.

On Wednesday, Israel and the U.S. vowed to take action a day after Iran launched its largest-ever direct attack against the Jewish state by firing more than 180 ballistic missiles.

The gains in energy futures appeared measured after Israel reported only minor damage from the missile attack.

Goldman Sachs said in a Wednesday note that the geopolitical risk premium of crude oil remains moderate likely due to high global spare output capacity and recently limited actual production disruptions.

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 Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Cory Wilchek, cwilchek@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2024 12:42 ET (16:42 GMT)

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