Fueling Strategy: Please fill as needed today, Thursday look for little to no change in wholesale prices – Be Safe

NYMEX Crude $ 45.20 DN $1.0900
NY Harbor ULSD $1.4500 UP $0.0013
NYMEX Gasoline $1.2808 UP $.00025

NEWS
Oil futures settled at their lowest level in nearly three weeks on Wednesday after U.S. government data revealed a jump in weekly crude supplies, just as some of the world’s top crude producers met in Vienna to discuss ways to support prices. At the special meeting, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and nonmembers such as Russia and Mexico discussed the fall in oil prices, which have tumbled by more 50% since last summer. Analysts, however, hadn’t expected the summit to result in any crude-oil production cuts.

December West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.09, or 2.4%, to settle at $45.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the lowest settlement for a most-active contract since Oct. 1. Brent crude declined by 86 cents, or 1.8%, to $47.85 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an increase of eight million barrels in crude supplies for the week ended Oct. 16. Analysts polled by Platts expected supplies to be up by 2.7 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute Tuesday said inventories rose 7.1 million barrels. “The crude inventory data has shown once again that the refinery maintenance is heavily influencing the…glut of supply,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade. Refinery utilization edged up from 86% a week earlier, but remained low at 86.4%, EIA data showed. Total oil production, meanwhile, was unchanged at about 9.1 million barrels a day. “As crude oil trades at its lowest levels since the beginning of the month, we expect this [supply] build to put further pressure on prices, with more builds looming during refinery maintenance season,” said John Macaluso, an analyst at Tyche Capital Advisors. Gasoline supplies fell by 1.5 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles declined by 2.6 million barrels last week, according to the EIA.

On Nymex, November gasoline settled at $1.281 a gallon and November heating oil finished at $1.45 a gallon, with both barely higher for the session. November natural gas fell 7.2 cents, or 2.9%, to $2.404 per million British thermal units ahead of an EIA weekly update on U.S. natural-gas supplies. Analysts polled by Platts expect to see a rise of between 86 billion and 90 billion cubic feet.

Over in Vienna, Venezuela has proposed that OPEC return to an old price-band mechanism, saying $88 is an ideal target, according to The Wall Street Journal. It also raised the idea of holding a summit in November to discuss the proposal, ahead of the scheduled Dec. 4 meeting. “OPEC is out for blood,” and under no circumstances will it cut production, said Aslam. “My biggest worry now is not the non-OPEC members but the Gulf-producing countries,” which may not show any respect for a quota system or any kind of limits, he said. “Every Gulf member is fighting for their own market share.”