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Market Close: Jan 28 Mixed

Fueling Strategy: Please fuel as needed today/tonight, Friday prices will go up one penny – Be Safe
NYMEX Crude    $ 52.34 DN $.5100
NYMEX ULSD     $1.6017 DN $.0072
NYMEX Gas       $1.5829 UP $.0058
NEWS
Oil slid on Thursday as the impact of a weaker dollar and big U.S. crude inventory couldn’t offset concerns that delays to vaccine rollouts and fresh travel curbs to prevent new coronavirus outbreaks could depress demand.

Brent Crude for March delivery fell 27 cents, or 0.48%, to $55.54 per barrel. WTI Crude settled 51 cents, or 0.96%, lower at $52.34 per barrel. The premium of the Brent front-month over the second month rose to its highest level since February 2020 for a fourth day in a row. The U.S. 3-2-1 crack spread , a measure of the profit margin for refining crude into gasoline and distillate, was on track for its highest close since May 2020, while the gasoline crack spread was on track for its highest close since June 2020.

Oil prices were supported earlier by Wednesday’s data that showed a huge 10 million-barrel drawdown in U.S. crude inventories last week, which analysts said was because of a pickup in U.S. crude exports and a drop in imports. “The draw was a big relief for inventories, especially as it followed a week of builds, putting traders at ease that supply doesn’t overwhelm demand for the time being,” Rystad Energy’s Louise Dickson said.

In addition, the U.S. dollar index flipped into negative territory after earlier gains, which also helped support oil prices. Buyers using other currencies pay less for dollar-priced oil when the greenback falls. Demand concerns, however, weighed on sentiment and prevented oil prices from holding those earlier gains.

The U.S. economy contracted at its deepest pace since World War Two in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic depressed consumer spending and business investment, pushing millions of Americans out of work and into poverty. A separate report showed 847,000 more people likely filed U.S. jobless claims last week, strengthening views of persistent labor market weakness. Stricter vaccine checks by the European Union and delivery hold-ups from AstraZeneca Plc and Pfizer Inc have slowed the roll out of shots. In China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, a surge in coronavirus cases has led to travel restrictions ahead of the Lunar New Year, normally the busiest travel season of the year.

Have a Great Day,
Loren R Bailey, President
Fuel Manager Services Inc.
“Serving the trucking industry since 1992”
Office: 479-846-2761
Cell: 479-790-5581
www.FuelManagerServices.com
www.owneroperatoradvisoryservice.com
“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.”
Categories: Fuel News
loren: Fuel Manager Services Inc. "Serving the trucking industry since 1992" I've been in and around the trucking industry for 45-years beginning in owner operator operations at Willis Shaw Express. I bought a small trucking company that I ran for 6-years then sold and went to work for J.B. Hunt Transport in 1982. After 10-years with Hunt, I started Fuel Manager Services, Inc., we are in our 29th year of serving the American trucking companies. Our simple goal was and is to bridge the gap between the trucking companies and the fuel suppliers.