AMERICAS OIL: WTI Crude Oil is mixed amidst signs of easing Israel/Hamas tension

{US}{7i} February 13 - Americas End-of-Day Oil Summary: WTI Crude Oil is mixed amidst signs of easing Israel/Hamas tensions and ‘imminent’ Ukraine peace talks, though having recovered some losses as the dollar weakened following delays to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. 

• President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs will not go into effect today and are time-delayed by ~6 weeks, CNBC reports. Trump clarified later in the day that he was directing the US Trade Representative and Commerce Secretary to propose new levies on a country-by-country basis in a process that could take weeks or months. Howard Lutnick said studies will be complete by April 1 and Trump could start the reciprocal plan by April 2.
• Crude fell this morning after headlines suggested that tensions around the Gaza ceasefire deal had eased, with Hamas reaffirming its commitment to the hostage release deal.
• President Trump is likely to meet Russian President Putin in person in Saudi Arabia some time. Also, it’s not “realistic” for Ukraine to join NATO. Trump has said negotiations will begin imminently but there is a long way to go before there is a truce.
• 94 of the 154 active tankers sanctioned by the US on Jan. 10 are now idle, Bloomberg reports.
• Global oil demand growth is projected to average 1.1 mb/d in 2025, up from 870 kb/d in 2024, according to the IEA Monthly Oil Report.
• India only wants to buy Russian oil only if it is supplied by companies and ships that have not been sanctioned by the U.S. the country's oil secretary said to Reuters at India Energy Week.
• PBF Energy will not begin assessing damage to its 156k b/d Martinez, CA, refinery for a week or more due to fire damage according to CEO Matt Lucey.
• The NOAA 6–14-day outlook is supportive for heating demand with below-normal conditions forecast across the eastern two-thirds of the country while milder conditions persist in the West. Elevated heating demand is likely in much of PADDs 1-3 with decreased demand in most of PADDs 4-5.
• US cracks rose with diesel cracks recovering lost ground amid a colder forecast that supported demand for heating oil. Gasoline cracks were higher following an unexpected decline in stocks last week.
  • WTI Mar futures were down 0.1% at $71.31
  • WTI Apr futures were down 0.1% at $71.15
  • RBOB Mar futures were up 1.1% at $2.11
  • ULSD Mar futures were down 0.0% at $2.45
  • US gasoline crack up 1.3$/bbl at 17.38$/bbl
  • US ULSD crack up 0.2$/bbl at 31.60$/bbl