Petroleum futures were higher at midday Thursday on what may be the first recent sign of "bottom-fishing" for crude oil and refined products contracts.
Supplies are a bit sloppy, particularly on the West Coast, but market sources said there is a belief patience will be rewarded with more balanced markets.
Gasoline futures and spot market prices were higher at midday. The NYMEX July contract was up by 4.46cts shortly after noon ET and gains of 3cts to 4cts were reported in most spot markets. Cash gasoline prices in the Pacific Northwest were about 8.5cts/gal higher.
Still, those Western spot values are well below what is typically seen in early June. California and Washington spot markets often trade at premiums to the NYMEX, but deals are now being reported at 5ct to 6ct discounts to futures.
The NYMEX July West Texas Intermediate contract was up $1.57 to $75.64/bbl and the August Brent crude contract was $1.51 higher at $79.92/bbl in early afternoon trading.
While demand for physical diesel remains weak, there was some stepped up buying in the July through December NYMEX ULSD contracts. The July ULSD contract was 5.31cts higher at $2.3542/gal.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Tom Kloza, tkloza@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-06-24 1311ET
