Ouch! What a terrible DOE report today, looks like large losses in gasoline stockpiles is becoming the norm. I’ll keep this short today so that I can enjoy just a little bit of vacation.
The DOE report as said was pretty rough for gasoline consumers. While oil inventories rose an amazing 9.6 million barrels, gasoline dropped by 2/3 that amount, falling under 200million barrels for the first time in recent memory. Midwest PADD lost a marginal 1 million barrels, which could have been worse, but look for wholesale prices to trade higher today. It may also lead to a price hike as the Grand Rapids area has nearly stalled on additional price drops.
Gasoline demand is also coming off its weakest numbers, demand seems to be making a comeback as prices fall under $3.
I’d look for a price hike to $3.89-$3.95 soon, but keep in mind how difficult price prediction seems to be this August.
If you can get gas under $3.80, I would strongly suggest you do so today.
Patrick