Sep 14th Fueling Strategy: Prices are UP 3 cent today, Please “PARTIAL FILL ONLY TODAY/TONIGHT” (cap all fuel at 50 gallons max or better yet, Don’t fuel today) Sunday prices will DROP of 3 Cents ~ Be Safe Today
Love’s teams are monitoring the latest developments as Hurricane Francine makes landfall along Louisiana. We have taken precautions and have increased fuel and food deliveries to stay stocked. Our stores are prepared to safely serve customers as long as possible.
For the most up to date information regarding business interruptions, please refer to Loves.com/weather and the Love’s Connect app.
With safety our number one priority, we are proactively preparing our travel centers and team members for Hurricane Francine. We’ve initiated Pilot’s emergency response team and have daily calls to track the storm and guide our operations.
Current forecasts indicate Hurricane Francine will make landfall around Morgan City, Louisiana, later this evening as a Category 1 hurricane.
See below for an update on our operations and a store watch list.
Store Operations:
We have temporarily closed three locations in the storm’s projected path. All other stores in the region are currently open and will remain open as long as it is safe for our team members to serve your drivers, emergency personnel and the community.
Temporarily closed: Pilot #300 – Hammond, LA Pilot #79 – Denham Springs, LA Pilot #1439 – Port Allen, LA
Supply Conditions: Pilot’s logistics team has us well-positioned to help prevent any service interruptions. We have ample supply in the impacted areas to keep your drivers and fleet fueled.
Sep 12th Fueling Strategy: Prices are down 8 cents today, Please “KEEP YOUR TANKS TOPPED TODAY/TONIGHT” ahead of Friday’s price MOVE UP of 3 Cents ~ Be Safe Today
NYEX Crude $ 67.31 UP $1.5600
NYMEX ULSD $2.0917 UP $0.0337
NYMEX Gas $1.8972 UP $0.0272
NEWS
The Oct WTI trading session settled at 67.31 (+1.56), had a high of 67.97, a low of 65.63. Cash price is at 65.79 (-2.91), while open interest came in at 233,215. Higher on the day by 2.37% CLV traded below its 200 day (77.5), its 50 day (76.48), its 20 day (72.72) and its 7 day (68.54) moving averages.
The COT report as of 9/3 showed commercials with a net short position of -239,369 compared to non-commercials who are net long 204,784. Crude oil recovered some of the losses from yesterday, with today’s rally driven by several factors in my view.
These include Tropical Storm Francine being upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane, which has led to the shutdown of Exxon, Chevron, and Shell refinery facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, a smaller-than-expected increase in U.S. inventory levels, and the transition from October to November contracts.
The EIA reported that domestic crude oil inventories rose by 833,000 barrels for the week ending September 6, reversing the previous week’s decrease of 6.873 million barrels, the market forecast was expecting ~1 million barrels. Although it wasn’t the draw bulls would have liked to have seen, the build up being less than the forecast could be viewed as slightly bullish in my opinion.
On top of that, yesterday the API reported a larger-than-expected drop in commercial inventories, which fell by 2.79 million barrels last week. Reuters reported that Libya’s crude oil exports sank by 81% this week compared to the previous week, amid the ongoing standoff between the two government factions.
Sep 11th Fueling Strategy: Prices are UP 2.5 cent today, Please “PARTIAL FILL ONLY TODAY/TONIGHT” (cap all fuel at 50 gallons max or better yet, Don’t fuel today) Thursday prices will DROP of 8 Cents ~ Be Safe Today
NYEX Crude $ 65.75 DN $2.9600
NYMEX ULSD $2.0580 DN $0.0814
NYMEX Gas $1.8700 DN $0.0504
NEWS
Oct WTI crude oil Tuesday closed down -2.96 (-4.31%), and Oct RBOB gasoline closed down -5.04 (-2.62%). Crude oil and gasoline prices Tuesday sold off sharply, with crude falling to a 16-month nearest-futures low and gasoline dropping to a 3-1/2 year low. A stronger dollar on Tuesday was bearish for energy prices. Crude oil prices also fell on concern about global energy demand after news that Chinese imports rose less than expected.
Crude prices also came under pressure Tuesday after Morgan Stanley cut its Brent crude price forecast for the second time in two weeks. Morgan Stanley projects Brent crude will average $75 a barrel in the fourth quarter, down from a previous projection of $80 a barrel.
Chinese trade news Tuesday was mixed for energy demand and crude prices. On the negative side, China Aug imports rose +0.5% y/y, weaker than expectations of +2.5% y/y. Conversely, China’s Aug exports rose +8.7% y/y, stronger than expectations of +6.6% y/y and the largest increase in 17 months.
Crude oil prices have some support as Tropical Storm Francine is expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico as soon as tonight, which could disrupt US crude production and refining on the Gulf Coast, where 20% of US crude production is produced and 48% of US petroleum refining capacity is located.
A decline in crude oil held worldwide on tankers is bullish for prices. Vortexa reported Monday that crude oil stored on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days fell by -2.14% w/w to 60.25 million bbl in the week ended September 6.
Crude prices found support last Thursday after OPEC+ agreed to pause its scheduled crude production hike of 180,000 bpd in October and November due to recent weakness in crude prices and signs of fragile global energy demand.
Crude oil prices have had some negative carryover since last Tuesday when Libyan central bank governor Sadiq Al-Kibir said there are “strong” indications that political factions are nearing an agreement to overcome political differences and resume the country’s crude oil production. Last week, Libya’s eastern government declared force majeure on all oil fields, terminals, and crude export facilities as it called for a halt to all crude production and exports due to political conflict over who controls the country’s central bank and oil revenues. The halt to Libya’s crude exports threatened to remove more than 1 million bpd of crude from the global market.
A supportive factor for crude is a decline in Russian crude exports. Weekly vessel-tracking data from Bloomberg showed Russian crude exports fell by -25,000 bpd to 3.1 million bpd in the week to September 1. Meanwhile, increased Russian crude production is negative for oil prices after Russia’s Energy Ministry reported on August 23 that Russia’s July crude production was 9.045 million bpd, about 67,000 bpd above the output target it agreed to with OPEC+.
The consensus is for Wednesday’s weekly EIA crude inventories to climb +1.05 million bbl and gasoline supplies to remain unchanged. Last Thursday’s EIA report showed that (1) US crude oil inventories as of August 30 were -4.5% below the seasonal 5-year average, (2) gasoline inventories were -2.2% below the seasonal 5-year average, and (3) distillate inventories were -9.5% below the 5-year seasonal average. US crude oil production in the week ending August 30 was unchanged w/w at 13.3 million bpd, falling back from the record high of 13.4 million bpd from the week of August 16.
Baker Hughes reported last Friday that active US oil rigs in the week ending September 6 were unchanged at 483 rigs, modestly above the 2-1/2 year low of 477 rigs posted in the week ending July 19. The number of US oil rigs has fallen over the past year from the 4-year high of 627 rigs posted in December 2022.
Sep 10th Fueling Strategy: Please “KEEP YOUR TANKS TOPPED TODAY/TONIGHT, Wednesday prices will go UP 2.5 Cents ~ Be Safe Today
NYEX Crude $ 68.71 UP $1.0400
NYMEX ULSD $2.1394 UP $0.0244
NYMEX Gas $1.9204 UP $0.0244
NEWS
Oct WTI crude oil Monday closed up +1.04 (+1.54%), and Oct RBOB gasoline closed up +2.44 (+1.29%).
Crude oil and gasoline prices Monday rallied on some short-covering after last week’s plunge to a 14-month nearest-futures low. Crude oil prices also saw support as Tropical Storm Francine is expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico later this week, which could disrupt US crude production and refining on the Gulf Coast, where 20% of US crude production is produced and 48% of US petroleum refining capacity is located. A stronger dollar Monday and weak global economic news limited gains in crude.
Monday’s global economic news was bearish for energy demand and crude prices. The Eurozone Sep Sentix investor confidence index unexpectedly fell -1.5 to an 8-month low of -15.4, weaker than expectations of an increase to -12.2. Also, Japan’s Q2 GDP was unexpectedly revised lower to +2.9% (q/q annualized) from +3.1%, weaker than expectations of an upward revision to +3.2%.
A decline in crude oil held worldwide on tankers is bullish for prices. Vortexa reported Monday that crude oil stored on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days fell by -2.14% w/w to 60.25 million bbl in the week ended September 6.
Crude prices found support last Thursday after OPEC+ agreed to pause its scheduled crude production hike of 180,000 bpd in October and November due to recent weakness in crude prices and signs of fragile global energy demand.
Crude oil prices have had some negative carryover since last Tuesday when Libyan central bank governor Sadiq Al-Kibir said there are “strong” indications that political factions are nearing an agreement to overcome political differences and resume the country’s crude oil production. Last week, Libya’s eastern government declared force majeure on all oil fields, terminals, and crude export facilities as it called for a halt to all crude production and exports due to political conflict over who controls the country’s central bank and oil revenues. The halt to Libya’s crude exports threatened to remove more than 1 million bpd of crude from the global market.
A supportive factor for crude is a decline in Russian crude exports. Weekly vessel-tracking data from Bloomberg showed Russian crude exports fell by -25,000 bpd to 3.1 million bpd in the week to September 1. Meanwhile, increased Russian crude production is negative for oil prices after Russia’s Energy Ministry reported on August 23 that Russia’s July crude production was 9.045 million bpd, about 67,000 bpd above the output target it agreed to with OPEC+.
Last Thursday’s EIA report showed that (1) US crude oil inventories as of August 30 were -4.5% below the seasonal 5-year average, (2) gasoline inventories were -2.2% below the seasonal 5-year average, and (3) distillate inventories were -9.5% below the 5-year seasonal average. US crude oil production in the week ending August 30 was unchanged w/w at 13.3 million bpd, falling back from the record high of 13.4 million bpd from the week of August 16.
Baker Hughes reported last Friday that active US oil rigs in the week ending September 6 were unchanged at 483 rigs, modestly above the 2-1/2 year low of 477 rigs posted in the week ending July 19. The number of US oil rigs has fallen over the past year from the 4-year high of 627 rigs posted in December 2022.
Sep 07 Fueling Strategy: Prices are UP 1 cent today, Please “PARTIAL FILL ONLY TODAY/TONIGHT” Sunday price DROP of 5 Cents ~ Be Safe Today
NYEX Crude $ 67.67 DN $1.4800
NYMEX ULSD $2.1150 DN $0.0539
NYMEX Gas $1.8960 DN $0.0298
NEWS
NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Oil prices settled 2% lower on Friday, with a big weekly loss after data U.S. jobs data was weaker than expected in August, which outweighed price support from a delay to supply increases by OPEC+ producers.
Brent crude futures were down $1.63, or 2.24%, to $71.06 a barrel, their lowest level since Dec. 2021. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.48, or 2.14%, to$67.67, their lowest since June 2023. For the week, Brent declined 10%, while WTI dropped around 8%.
U.S. government data showed employment increased less than expected in August, but a drop in the jobless rate to 4.2% suggested an orderly labor market slowdown that may not warrant a big interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve this month. “The jobs report was a little soft and implied that the economy in the U.S. is on the slide,” Bob Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho.
Concerns around Chinese demand also kept pressuring oil prices, Yawger said. On Thursday, Brent settled at its lowest since June 2023 despite a withdrawal from U.S. oil inventories and a decision by OPEC+ to delay planned oil output increases.
U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 6.9 million barrels to 418.3 million barrels last week, compared with a projected decline of 993,000 barrels in a Reuters poll of analysts. The U.S. active oil rig count, an early indicator of future output, remained unchanged at 483 this week, energy services firm Baker Hughes , opens new tab reported on Friday.
Money managers cut their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to Sept. 3, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
Fueling Strategy: Prices are down 5 cents today, Please “KEEP YOUR TANKS TOPPED TODAY/TONIGHT” ahead of Saturday’s price MOVE UP of 1 Cents ~ Be Safe Today
NYEX Crude $ 69.15 DN $.0500
NYMEX ULSD $2.1689 UP $.0114
NYMEX Gas $1.9258 DN $.0360
NEWS
Oct WTI crude oil Thursday closed down -0.05 (-0.07%), and Oct RBOB gasoline closed down -3.60 (-1.84%). Crude oil and gasoline prices settled lower on Thursday, with crude posting an 8-3/4 month nearest-futures low and gasoline falling to a 2-3/4 year nearest-futures low. Energy demand concerns undercut crude prices after Thursday’s US Aug ADP employment report showed employers added the fewest jobs in 3-1/2 years. Losses in crude were limited due to a weak dollar. Also, short-covering emerged in crude Thursday after OPEC+ agreed to pause its planned crude production increase for two months. In addition, crude found support Thursday after weekly EIA crude inventories fell more than expected to an 11-month low.
Thursday’s global economic news was mixed for energy demand and crude prices. On the negative side, the US Aug ADP employment change rose +99,000, weaker than expectations of +145,000 and the smallest increase in 3-1/2 years. Also, Eurozone Jul retail sales rose +0.1% m/m, weaker than expectations of +0.2% m/m. On the positive side, the US Aug ISM services index unexpectedly rose +0.1 to 51.5, stronger than expectations of no change at 51.4. Also, German Jul factory orders unexpectedly rose +2.9% m/m, stronger than expectations of a -1.7% m/m decline.
Crude prices found support Thursday after OPEC+ agreed to pause its scheduled crude production hike of 180,000 bpd in October and November after crude prices tumbled to an 8-3/4 month low Wednesday amid fragile global energy demand.
Crude oil prices also have negative carryover from Tuesday when Libyan central bank governor Sadiq Al-Kibir said there are “strong” indications that political factions are nearing an agreement to overcome political differences and resume the country’s crude oil production. Last week, Libya’s eastern government declared force majeure on all oil fields, terminals, and crude export facilities as it called for a halt to all crude production and exports due to political conflict over who controls the country’s central bank and oil revenues. The halt to Libya’s crude exports threatened to remove more than 1 million bpd of crude from the global market.
Oil prices have some support from concern that an escalation of conflict in the Middle East could disrupt oil supplies. Israel’s military continues to conduct operations in Gaza, and there is the continued risk that the war might spread to Hezbollah in Lebanon or even to a direct conflict with Iran. Meanwhile, ongoing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi rebels have forced shippers to divert shipments around the southern tip of Africa instead of going through the Red Sea, disrupting global crude oil supplies.
A supportive factor for crude is a decrease in Russian crude exports. Weekly vessel-tracking data from Bloomberg showed Russian crude exports fell by +-25,000 bpd to 3.1 million bpd in the week to September 1. Meanwhile, increased Russian crude production is negative for oil prices after Russia’s Energy Ministry reported on August 23 that Russia’s July crude production was 9.045 million bpd, about 67,000 bpd above the output target it agreed to with OPEC+.
A decline in crude oil held worldwide on tankers is bullish for prices. Vortexa reported Monday that crude oil stored on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days fell by -14% w/w to 52.99 million bbl in the week ended August 30, the lowest in 4-1/2 years.
Sep 05 –Fueling Strategy: Please “BUY ONLY ENOUGH FUEL TO GET THROUGH TODAY/TONIGHT” Prices will DROP another 5 cents after midnight tonight (Friday)!! ~ Be Safe Today!
NYEX Crude $ 69.20 DN $1.1400
NYMEX ULSD $2.1575 DN $0.0485
NYMEX Gas $1.9618 DN $0.0159
NEWS
Oct WTI crude oil Wednesday closed down -1.14 (-1.62%), and Oct RBOB gasoline closed down -1.59 (-0.80%). Crude oil and gasoline prices Wednesday added to Tuesday’s sharp losses, with crude falling to an 8-3/4 month low and gasoline falling to a 2-3/4 year nearest-futures low. Weaker-than-expected global economic news weighs global energy demand prospects and crude prices. Crude prices fell Wednesday despite a weaker dollar and signs that OPEC+ may delay a planned crude production increase in response to concern about weak energy demand.
Wednesday’s global economic news was bearish for energy demand and crude prices. The US July JOLTS job openings fell -237,000 to a 3-1/2 year low of 7.673 million, showing a weaker labor market than expectations of 8.100 million. Also, the Eurozone Aug S&P composite PMI was revised downward by -0.2 to 51.0 from the previously reported 51.2. In addition, the China Aug Caixin services PMI fell -0.5 to 51.6, weaker than expectations of 51.8. Finally, the Japan Aug Jibun Bank services PMI was revised down by -0.3 to 53.7 from the previously reported 54.0.
Crude found brief support Wednesday after several OPEC+ delegates said the group is close to delaying a planned increase in oil production after prices plunged amid fragile demand and plentiful supplies.
Crude oil prices also have negative carryover from Tuesday when Libyan central bank governor Sadiq Al-Kibir said there are “strong” indications that political factions are nearing an agreement to overcome political differences and resume the country’s crude oil production. Last week, Libya’s eastern government declared force majeure on all oil fields, terminals, and crude export facilities as it called for a halt to all crude production and exports due to political conflict over who controls the country’s central bank and oil revenues. The halt to Libya’s crude exports threatened to remove more than 1 million bpd of crude from the global market.
Sep 04 –Fueling Strategy: Please, if possible, “PARTIAL (35 max gallons) FILL ONLY TODAY/TONIGHT” Prices will DROP 7 cents after midnight tonight (Thursday)!! ~ Be Safe Today!
NYEX Crude $ 70.34 DN $3.2100
NYMEX ULSD $2.2060 DN $0.0723
NYMEX Gas $1.9777 DN $0.1155
NEWS
Oct WTI crude oil Tuesday closed down -3.21 (-4.36%), and Oct RBOB gasoline closed down -11.55 (-5.52%).
Crude oil and gasoline prices plunged Tuesday, with crude falling to an 8-month low and gasoline falling to a 2-3/4 year nearest-futures low. Tuesday’s rally in the dollar index to a 2-week high is bearish for energy prices. Also, global energy demand concerns weighed on crude prices after Chinese and US manufacturing activity contracted more than expected. Losses in crude oil accelerated Tuesday after a Libyan central banker said that a deal appears imminent to resume the country’s crude oil production.
Tuesday’s global economic news was bearish for energy demand and crude prices. The US Aug ISM manufacturing index rose +0.4 to 47.2, weaker than expectations of 47.5. The Aug ISM price paid sub-index unexpectedly rose +1.1 to 54.0 versus expectations of a decline to 52.0. Also, US July construction spending unexpectedly fell -0.3% m/m, weaker than expectations of a +0.1% m/m increase and the biggest decline in 1-3/4 years. In addition, the China Aug manufacturing PMI unexpectedly fell -0.3 to a 6-month low of 49.1, weaker than expectations of an increase to 49.5.
Crude oil prices were undercut Tuesday after Libyan central bank governor Sadiq Al-Kibir said there are “strong” indications that political factions are nearing an agreement to overcome political differences and resume the country’s crude oil production. Last week, Libya’s eastern government declared force majeure on all oil fields, terminals, and crude export facilities as it called for a halt to all crude production and exports due to political conflict over who controls the country’s central bank and oil revenues. The halt to Libya’s crude exports threatened to remove more than 1 million bpd of crude from the global market.
Oil prices have some support from concern that an escalation of conflict in the Middle East could disrupt oil supplies. Israel’s military continues to conduct operations in Gaza, and there is the continued risk that the war might spread to Hezbollah in Lebanon or even to a direct conflict with Iran. Meanwhile, ongoing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi rebels have forced shippers to divert shipments around the southern tip of Africa instead of going through the Red Sea, disrupting global crude oil supplies.
In a bearish factor, increased Russian crude exports have boosted global supplies. Weekly vessel-tracking data from Bloomberg showed Russian crude exports rose by +390,000 bpd to 3.35 million bpd in the week to August 25, the highest in nearly two months. Meanwhile, increased Russian crude production is also negative for oil prices after Russia’s Energy Ministry reported last Friday that Russia’s July crude production was 9.045 million bpd, about 67,000 bpd above the output target it agreed to with OPEC+.
