In OPIS News.... Elaine Levin, president of Powerhouse, a market consulting firm, said the lowinventories and backwardation may be leading to more "spec" plays. In addition, the fact that the FCC at Phillips 66's Bayway, N.J., refinery hasbeen down since June...
…OPIS on Thursday asked Elaine Levin, president of Powerhouse brokerage, to look at some HO options.
While the HO term has its legacy in heating oil, it applies to the ULSD specification for New York delivery and is an imperfect but appropriate “insurance” for marketers and end-users worried about a winter price spike.
Levin said she is seeing some interest in $5/gal options. An outright $5/gal call, each of which represents the right, though not the obligation, to take delivery of 42,000 gal of ULSD, carried a cost of 17.5/cts/gal on Thursday morning, or roughly $7,350.
…”I think oil traders are afraid of getting too bearish with the prospect of a Russia invasion of Ukraine,” Elaine Levin, president at energy risk management brokerage Powerhouse TL said. “If the stock market and bitcoin keep moving down, I do think we make new lows,” Levin added.
Elaine is quoted in an article by Kelsey Hallahan from Platts Market Center. Read the full artile here
… Elaine Levine, president of Washington-based brokerage PowerHouse, had a similar take, saying “I think that the interconnectedness of the world is showing up in the prices – we’ve got a great liquid benchmark.”
“Traders need a place to express their fear and greed,” Levine continued. “So if [traders] are concerned about supply in Europe – at least in my opinion, it will show up here. Where else can you put that concern in the market but into the liquid benchmark?” …
…”Given to low level of inventories, and looking at the global picture it’s even
tighter, it’s very hard to be a bear,” Elaine Levin, President at PowerHouse
TL, a broker and commodity trading advisor, said, though Levin believes there
could be some market consolidation around these levels….
A Sept. 30 story in OPIS mentioned an upwelling of interest in options, and
specifically in “calls” as a consequence of natural gas prices on other
continents that fetched the equivalent of $150-$200/bbl oil. Offshore natural
gas in Europe and China has continued to flirt with new all-time highs, and a
check of some options’ strategies shows some tidy price appreciation.
Example: Ahead of that story, Powerhouse president Elaine Levin acknowledged an
acceleration of ULSD options or “calls” to guard against budget-busting winter
numbers.
September 30, 2021 – Elaine is quoted in an article by Tom Kloza of OPIS.
‘Powerhouse president Elaine Levin told OPIS that interest in ULSD options or
“calls” has been accelerating for weeks. But the fears have increased with
clients now worried about a repeat of the 2007-2008 environment where futures
across the energy complex became untethered.’
Elaine is quoted in an article by Kelsey Hallahan from Platts…
“David Thompson, executive vice president at brokerage firm PowerHouse, added to the technical perspective.
‘Measurements of overbought had gotten to extreme levels,’ Thompson said. ‘There are moments where you get too exuberant in the market, and then you get a selloff.'”