Fueling Strategy: Please fill as needed tonight, plan on Friday’s one penny drop in wholesale prices – Be Safe

NYMEX Crude $ 48.97 DN $.6500
NY Harbor ULSD $1.5072 DN $.0295
NYMEX Gasoline $1.5500 DN $.0403

NEWS
Oil prices fell Thursday, with U.S. prices ending at their lowest level in about a month, as growing concerns over rising U.S. production and the restart of Libya’s largest oil field rattled the market.

June West Texas Intermediate crude slid by 65 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $48.97 a barrel—the lowest settlement price since March 28, according to FactSet data. Month to date, tracking the most-active contracts, prices trade nearly 3% lower, according to FactSet data.

Brent for the same month lost 38 cents, or 0.7%, to $51.44 a barrel. It had touched a low of $50.45, which was the weakest intraday low since late March. The June Brent contracts will expire at Friday’s settlement, which often adds to trading volatility.

Libya’s “big Sharara oil field, that has been on and off line for a while now, is back on again” for now, said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets told MarketWatch, who believes that was the trigger for Thursday’s price climb.

WTI oil has “been falling in waves since failing to retake $50” on Wednesday, he said. “With month end coming up, oil may be choppy along with other markets toward the weekend as traders adjust holdings.”

Oil prices on Wednesday settled mixed, with Brent crude down, WTI crude up slightly, but ending well off session highs after U.S. government data showed an unexpected rise in inventories for gasoline and distillates. The report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration also showed a rise in oil production in the lower 48 states, stirring up concerns higher oil prices in the beginning of the year have encouraged U.S. producers to boost output.

“Despite a bit of confident commentary from OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo, the market continues to be troubled by the resurgence of U.S. shale,” said Robbie Fraser, commodity analyst at Schneider Electric, in a note.

Barkindo reportedly said that global oil stocks were on the decline, but needed to continue their decline. The comments suggest that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may agree to extend their production-cut agreement into the second half of the year, when they meet in late May.

But in a note Thursday, analysts at Commerzbank said “the market focus is finally drifting away from the ‘hands of the OPEC magicians’ and towards U.S. oil production, which in fact is the key factor in terms of supply.”