Fueling Strategy: Please partial fill only tonight, Thursday AM wholesale prices will drop 2 cents – Be Safe!

NYMEX Crude $ 43.90 UP $.1300
NY Harbor ULSD $1.3282 DN $.0052
NYMEX Gasoline $1.4866 DN $.0234

NEWS
Crude-oil futures pivoted late Wednesday to finish modestly higher and end a string of three straight down days, capping a volatile session amid fresh worries about a supply glut in crude.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures closed 13 cents, or 0.3%, higher at $43.78 a barrel. WTI had been nearly 3% higher on the day and down by nearly 1%. Meanwhile, Brent crude for July delivery the global oil benchmark, ended down 35 cents, or 0.8%, to $44.62 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. Brent oil had been as high as $46.01 a barrel on the day. Crude prices had been catching a bid earlier in the session as wildfires raged in northern Alberta, forcing reductions in crude production in that oil-rich region—a temporary boon to a market wrestling with oversupply fears. However, crude futures came under pressure, coming off their highest levels of the day, after a report from the U.S. Department of Energy showed a larger-than-expected weekly build of crude stockpiles, with inventories increasing by 2.8 million barrels for the week ended April 29—a new weekly record. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected U.S. stockpiles to rise by 1.2 million barrels last week. Market participants also pointed to a surprise rise in gasoline stockpiles even amid evidence of healthy demand. Gasoline inventories last week increased by 500,000 barrels, which is above the norm for this time of the year, according to EIA.

Typically, gasoline stockpiles tend to decline as the summer driving season kicks into gear. Gasoline for June delivery ended down 2.34 cents, or 1.6%, at $1.4866 a gallon. ”This [build] really speaks to just how oversupplied we are,” said Robbie Fraser, commodity analyst at Schneider Electric. The EIA report follows the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, which said late Tuesday that U.S. oil inventories rose by 1.3 million barrels last week. Elevated U.S. stockpiles are considered a major contributor to the global oil glut that has dragged prices lower over the past year and a half. “Fundamentally we are still oversupplied,” said Tariq Zahir, a managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors. Zahir said that he fears that the recent rally in oil may encourage U.S. shale producers to kick back into high gear, which could spark a more sustained slide in oil prices. Zahir said WTI could come under significant pressure if it dips below $43 a barrel, forcing speculators to unwind their long bets.

WTI oil fared better than its international counterpart Brent as the Alberta fires caused Canada’s largest oil producer, Suncor Energy Inc. to reduce production at its oil-sands operations as evacuations displaced the company’s employees. Suncor produces more than 450,000 barrels a day, according to reports. “The Alberta sands fire overnight are definitely drawing a bid [for WTI] today,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group. Weaker-than-expected data, including private-sector employment, was being viewed as supportive for crude prices because it could delay the Federal Reserve’s attempts to raise interest rates. A rate increase would push the dollar higher and weigh on assets priced in the currency, like oil, making them more expensive to purchasers in other monetary units.

On Wednesday, Automatic Data Processing showed that private-sector employment gains slowed markedly in April. Employers added 156,000 jobs in April, according to ADP Inc.—the weakest estimate since February 2014. Economists had expected an increase of 193,000.