Fueling Strategy: Please fill as needed tonight, Tuesday please keep tanks topped out AM/PM due to wholesale prices will go again 2.5 cents Wednesday AM – Be Safe Tonight!

NYMEX Crude $ 43.02 UP $1.2200
NY Harbor ULSD $1.3436 UP $0.0266
NYMEX Gasoline $1.3620 DN $0.0143

NEWS
Oil futures rallied Monday, settling at their highest level in roughly two weeks as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced that it’ll hold an “informal” meeting next month to discuss ways to restore stability and order to the crude market.

September West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.22, or 2.9%, to settle at $43.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while October Brent on London’s ICE Futures exchange gained $1.12, or 2.5%, to $45.39 a barrel. Both grades of crude settled at their highest levels in roughly two weeks. “There was a big buildup of short positions in WTI and Brent contracts recently,” said Richard Hastings, macro strategist at Seaport Global Securities. “Some of them were too aggressive, so we are seeing those getting closed today—a short covering rally, for now.”

Analysts said the oil market found reason to rally after OPEC President Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada, who is also Qatar’s energy minister, said in a written statement on Monday the cartel will hold an informal meeting in Algeria on September 26-28 on the sidelines of the 15th International Energy Forum. “OPEC continues to monitor developments closely, and is in constant deliberations with all member states on ways and means to help restore stability and order to the oil market,” he said. Futures have wavered for the last several sessions around the low $40-a-barrel mark after last week’s rebound from bear-market lows. The recent slump in prices have revived concerns over a supply glut in the market, fueling worries among some OPEC members that the price is becoming too low again.

OPEC members, including Venezuela, Ecuador and Kuwait, are now pushing for fresh talks on setting new limits for oil production in a bid to push prices higher by constricting the amount of oil they release to the market. “As was the case earlier this year, many OPEC members are likely to be in favor of the freeze, but any meaningful action would require coordination from members with more significant upside to current production (principally Iran and Libya),” said Robbie Fraser, commodity analyst at Schneider Electric. “If the last round of talks is any indication, this latest revival is likely to be high on speculation and relatively weak on substance,” he said in a note. “Nonetheless, there remains significant risk to the upside through certain OPEC members. Nigeria, Venezuela, Iraq, and Libya all face notable production risks and could be subject to additional unplanned outages going forward.” A freeze deal died back in April during talks in Doha, Qatar, when Iran refused to cap production until it had reached pre-sanctions levels.

“It’s obvious that OPEC members want a higher oil price, and we still believe the 50-to-60 dollar range will suit all parties,” Nico Pantelis, head of research at Secular Investor, told Market Watch. “We expect higher prices for oil in the coming weeks, with our first targets between $46 and $48.” Oil prices settled lower on Friday after data showed the number of U.S. oil rigs rose for a sixth straight week. The recent drop-off in oil prices is “related to overproduction and inventory, as well broader [economic] growth issues across markets,” said Vic Sperandeo, president and chief executive of EAM Partners, known for the Trader Vic Index. “While OPEC’s comments might lead to a bounce in the short term, we’ll need to see stronger economic growth before a more significant rebound occurs.”

Elsewhere, China’s foreign trade data for July showed exports continued to fall in dollar terms in July from a year earlier, as global demand for goods from the world’s second-largest economy remained sluggish. But oil imports crept higher in July as appetite for foreign crude continued to rise. This year has shown a significant pickup in China’s crude imports amid the decline in oil prices and robust demand from independent refiners.