Fueling Strategy: Please fill as needed today, Saturday AM wholesale prices will go up slightly then Sunday UP 2.5 Cents, Be Safe Tonight!

NYMEX Crude $ 33.62 UP $.4000
NY Harbor ULSD $1.0551 UP $.0242
NYMEX Gasoline $1.1031 UP $.0241

NEWS
Oil futures settled higher on Friday to score a second straight weekly gain, though traders were skeptical of talk from major oil producers over the potential for an agreement to reduce crude output.

The gains only dented what has been another dismal month for oil prices. The U.S. benchmark skidded more than 9% on a mix of the continued global glut of crude and concerns over a slowdown in Chinese energy demand. The monthly loss is the third in a row; prices have plunged nearly 28% over that period.

March West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 40 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $33.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Jan. 6. Prices, based on the most-active contracts, gained 4.4% for the week, but lost about 9.2% for the month. March Brent crude rose 85 cents, or 2.5%, to end at $34.74 a barrel, retreating from a high of $35 on London’s ICE Futures exchange. The contract, which expired at the settlement, rose 7.9% for the week, but lost 7.8% for the month, FactSet data show.

Iran said Friday it won’t immediately participate in any plan for coordinated output cuts with other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to a report from Dow Jones, which cited comments from an Iranian oil official. “Iranian confirmation that no cuts were likely until production and exports are significantly higher are no surprise, but do serve as a reminder that Iran will remain outside any agreement, with its own production set to rise in the months ahead,” said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures. Prices briefly turned lower in the wake of the news. Russia’s energy minister had recently said that his country and OPEC could discuss 5% output cuts at a meeting in February. A senior OPEC official, however, denied the claim, and many analysts remain skeptical of the chances of such an agreement.

Traders also digested data from Baker Hughes Friday, which showed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil fell by 12 rigs to 498.

Overall, talk of a potential production cut boosted prices for oil for the week. And prices may go higher still. Vahan Janjigian, chief investment officer at Greenwich Wealth Management, said he has “no doubt oil prices will go higher,” with Saudi Arabia and Russia having “every desire to see higher prices.” Janjigian, who is also editor of the Bottom Line Money Masters Stock Report, said he doesn’t know when that will happen, but he’s willing to increase his exposure to oil now and has been doing so primarily with the exchange-traded funds, including the Energy Select Sector SPDR

Meanwhile, oil prices had a muted reaction to the Bank of Japan’s surprise decision to introduce negative interest rates for the first time to stimulate inflation. The BOJ news “suggests the U.S. dollar will remain high against most major currencies, thus maintaining pressure on global commodities like crude,” said Richard Hastings, macro strategist at Seaport Global Securities.