Gasoline: Chicago conventional skyrockets

摘要

Conventional gasoline differentials for delivery during Explorer's cycle 3 (through May 24) Chicago market skyrocketed Wednesday as BP, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil were buying barrels, traders said. Clips of 25,000 barrels traded at a high of 1.00 cent/gal over NYMEX June RBOB, up 3.5 cents from Tuesday's assessment. One trader said buying by three refiners simultaneously for Chicago's market was not unusual, given rising demand as summer draws near. Another market source agreed, saying, "I've seen this before." But a third source saw the buying activity as unusual, even in the lead-up to the summer, given that refiners typically plan production to meet delivery obligations, and there had been no reports of production problems at major Midwest refineries.