Oil Products Summary at European Close: Gasoline Cracks Down

Gasoline cracks have slipped today as markets are underwhelmed by actual US demand levels, with higher EV use and greater efficiency likely to dent peak gasoline demand.

• US gasoline crack down 0.6$/bbl at 25.81$/bbl
• US ULSD crack up 0.4$/bbl at 25.02$/bbl
• The Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. has indicated strong travel demand by both road and air as well as marked the start of summer driving season of peak gasoline demand.
• U.S. seat numbers on domestic flights for May rose by 5% m/m and almost 6% y/y - to slightly above 90 million according to OAG showed - surpassing 2019 levels.
• Chevrons 245 kbd Richmond refinery in the San Francisco area suffered a mechanical failure of a flare gas compressor on Monday according to a regulatory filing.
• Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry announced that it processed 5.9m mt of oil from Jan-April, up 5.4% on the same period in 2023, Interfax reported.
• BP’s Whiting refinery in Indiana appears to still be facing minor production issues according to GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan.
• Russia’s domestic road fuel market is fully supplied with gasoline and diesel, according to a government statement after Deputy PM Novak’s meeting with oil producers.
• Gasoline premiums in the Middle East fell to lows last recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic as the region became oversupplied amid high refinery runs, Argus said.
• Global airline passenger capacity is set to rise to 114.64m seats in the seven days commencing from May 27, OAG said.