Petroleum futures were rising to start the final week of June, with RBOB contracts attempting to post a fifth-straight day of gains.
Gains for oil contracts were outpacing refined products at about 11:30 a.m. ET, with the August contract for West Texas Intermediate crude rising 65cts to $81.38/bbl while September prices moved 66cts higher to $80.62/bbl. Brent crude gains were lighter, with the August contract advancing 58cts to $85.82/bbl and September prices ahead 65cts to $84.98/bbl.
ULSD futures were leading refined products higher, with July prices 1.32cts ahead to $2.5047/gal while the August contract advanced by 1.44cts to $2.5245/gal.
RBOB futures were struggling to remain in positive territory with the July contract drifting 0.19cts higher to $2.5156/gal while August prices were 0.3ct ahead to $2.4996/gal.
While crude and product prices plunged lower at the start of the month, the last two weeks have seen prices rally, with WTI prices ending Friday's trading session 5.2% ahead for the month while RBOB futures were 4% ahead and ULSD prices have gained 5.25%.
Prices are being supported by supply concerns, as earlier this month OPEC and its allies agreed to extend voluntary crude oil production cuts. That decision has led to warnings about demand exceeding supply during the busy summer driving season.
Prices have also been boosted by recent data from the Energy Information Administration showing fuel demand - which has been lackluster so far this year - picking up during the last few weeks.
While futures prices have been rising, retail gasoline prices have been stagnant in the weeks leading up to the Friday's official start of summer.
Monday marks the 17th day where the national average retail price of gasoline has hovered between 3.44-3.46/gal. At an average $3.452/gal, the retail price is more than 15cts/gal below the $3.6093/gal average seen at the start of the Memorial Day weekend, according to OPIS pricing data.
While average gross rack-to-retail margins have been stronger than usual during the month, Monday's national average margin was 33cts/gal, according to OPIS MarginPro data. That's 15.6cts/gal lower than four weeks ago, as retailers have not raised pump prices despite increased wholesale costs.
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 Steve Cronin, scronin@Opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-24-24 1246ET
