Increased demand and low inventories drive US distillate prices higher
Published by Callum O'Reilly,
Senior Editor
Hydrocarbon Engineering,
Rising crude oil prices, low refinery production, and increased consumption of distillate fuel have contributed to the highest nominal (not adjusted for inflation) distillate prices since 2014, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Distillate is a category of fuel that includes diesel fuel and heating oil. The front-month futures price for ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) for delivery in New York Harbor surpassed US$3/gal. on 28 February and closed at US$4.44/gal. on 8 March. Rising crude oil prices account for much of the increase in ULSD prices, but other market fundamentals specific to distillate are also contributing to the higher prices.
Some factors such as increased US demand, relatively low US production, and low global stocks were contributing to higher ULSD prices prior to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine.
US demand for distillate fuel has been high since early 2021 because of increased demand for trucking and rail freight transport. Furthermore, cold weather in January 2022 contributed to increased demand for heating oil in the Northeast this winter, a region that relies on heating oil to heat almost 20% of its homes.
Despite increased distillate demand, refinery production of distillate remains below pre-pandemic levels, partly because of comparatively slower demand growth for other petroleum products such as motor gasoline and jet fuel.
As domestic jet fuel demand increases, refiners are shifting more of their production away from distillate to produce more jet fuel. The current dynamic of high distillate demand and low production is contributing to persistent distillate stock withdrawals in the US. According to data the EIA’s ‘Weekly Petroleum Status Report’ (WPSR), distillate stocks on the US East Coast measured 31.5 million bbl on 25 February, which is 37% less than the previous five-year (2017–2021) average for that time of year.
Europe and Asia are experiencing similar trends of low inventories and high prices in their distillate markets, as highlighted in the EIA’s recent ‘This Week in Petroleum’ analysis.
Since Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine, an additional factor contributing to higher ULSD prices, aside from increasing crude oil prices, has been the possibility of reduced distillate exports from Russia. Europe imports much of its distillate from Russia, and the possibility of reduced imports has contributed to higher European diesel prices and higher demand for US distillate.
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/11032022/increased-demand-and-low-inventories-drive-us-distillate-prices-higher/
You might also like
Five key takeaways from the AFPM Annual Meeting
Following the recent AFPM Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas, US, the AFPM has released a snapshot of some of the key themes discussed throughout the conference.