In OPIS News….

Elaine Levin, president of Powerhouse, a market consulting firm, said the low
inventories and backwardation may be leading to more “spec” plays.

In addition, the fact that the FCC at Phillips 66’s Bayway, N.J., refinery has
been down since June 12 also has played a role in pushing RBOB interest as East
Coast gasoline stocks are close to where they were at this time last year and
have narrowed by about 2 million bbl over the past four weeks.

Levin also said the market backwardation has attracted exchange traded funds,
which see an increasing benefit in such markets, picking up on the roll.

And while there are no current tropical storm threats, there has been some
“just in case” chatter in the market that could be leading some players to
position themselves ahead of a storm. The possible “storm positioning” theory
also makes sense as open interest started to ramp up after forecasters at
Colorado State University raised their Atlantic hurricane season forecast
earlier this month.

OPIS – Denton Cinquegrana – July 18, 2023