Bulk and retail prices in the midcontinent rose sharply this week as favorable weather led to an uptick in end-user demand. Prices for USMC fob railed material were largely heard in a wide $195-245/st range for PG 64-22, though the bulk of sales were in a tighter $220-230/st range. Waterborne prices strengthened to $195-220/st ex-refinery for both river and lake barges, a $17.50/st increase. Disruptions to heavy crude access following wildfires in Canada's Alberta province last month may have accounted for the wide price spread for railed deliveries, with some midcontinent refiners relying more heavily on Canadian crude supply than others. Tightening availability on the US east coast has also exerted upward pressure on Midwest bulk prices, causing PADD 1 refiners to pull volumes east by rail.
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