Storm jitters push US spot product prices higher despite weak demand

摘要

The outright prices for spot products covered here all increased over the week to Sept.18,but differentials were mixed.With some Gulf-Coast refineries still closed from Hurricane Laura in late Aug.,others were closing or reducing rates ahead of Hurricane Sally,which made landfall on Sept.16 in Alabama.Areas of Texas and Louisiana that are home to more refineries were largely spared by the second storm,and the refineries that were in Sally's path are generally recovering more quicldy than those impacted by Laura.Data released on Sept.16 by the US EIA showed implied demand(reported as product supplied)for major petroleum products fell by 8.84% over the week ending Sept.11 and was 16.03% lower on the year.The EIA data also showed gross refinery inputs increased by 761K b/d over the week ending Sept.11 to 14.123MM b/d,and IIR Energy estimated that US refiners decreased their offline capacity from 4.973MM b/d in the week to Sept.11 to 4.918MM b/d in the week to Sept.18.