US spot prices edge down as product stocks skyrocket.

摘要

US spot prices fell in the week to Jan. 6, due largely to massive stockbuilds. Refinery problems helped limit the downside, however. Reports from the cash market were scarce during the period, and the market was closed on Monday, Jan. 2 for the New Year holiday. Gasoline sentiment soured during the second half of the period after the US EIA released its inventory report for the week ending Dec. 30 that showed gasoline stocks soared 8.4MM bbl to 235.5MM bbl, hitting the highest since late-July. Analysts had expected a build of just 1.8MM bbl. In the Midwest, differentials in the Chicago hub continued to be bolstered by local refinery issues and heavy buying, as has been seen in recent weeks. On the West Coast, California's Los Angles market saw prices end steady-to-higher. In the New York Harbor (NYH), gasoline and RBOB prices slid but found some support on news from Philadelphia Energy Solutions that its 335K-b/d Philadelphia, Pennsylvania refinery was forced to reduce operations at its 90K-b/d gasoline-making unit due to repairs being made at an associated boiler. Following reports of the refinery issue and the sharp draw in national gasoline stocks, the arbitrage window opened wider to pull barrels to the NYH from Europe.