Energy markets are headed higher today. The recent downward trend may have come to a halt today with the release of the weekly Department of Energy inventory reports. We saw a larger than expected draw on crude oil, but much of that was due to increased refinery utilization. Gas saw a draw when expecting a build, this is primarily seen by a 22% drop in imports. Diesel showed larger than expected build in inventories which was a result of the increased refinery runs and a fairly sharp drop in demand. The traders latch on to any news to put a bullish spin on the markets.
Overall inventories look like this: gas and diesel are both very close to their 5 year averages. Crude is approximately 8-10% above the 5 year average levels. Propane inventories had a pretty nice build this week, but inventories are significantly below the levels we should be at for mid-June.
Near mid-day Wednesday… August crude futures are up 65 cents trading at $94.80, gas is trading up 6 cents, and heating oil is up 4 cents. There is still a lot of uncertainty about the U.S. economy, Middle East instability, and European (Greece) debt issues.
