Gasoline Rises to Nine-Day High as WTI Tops $100 on Egypt Crisis
Gasoline jumped to a nine-day high as West Texas Intermediate crude topped $100 on concern that the political uprising in Egypt will disrupt oil shipments.
Futures rose as much as 2 percent after crude surpassed $100 for the first time in nine months. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi defied protests calling for his resignation. The army said July 1 it would impose its own plan if the crisis wasn’t resolved within 48 hours.
“It’s totally Egypt today,” said Andrew Lebow, a senior vice president at Jefferies Bache LLC in New York. “When you set a time deadline, it really raises the anxiety level. We’re all watching. If they closed Suez, it would be a major disruption.”
August-delivery gasoline gained 4.78 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $2.8311 a gallon at 9:58 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange on trading volume that was 0.8 percent below the 100-day average. Crude oil for August delivery on the Nymex jumped 1.9 percent to $101.52 a barrel, after touching $102.18, the highest intraday level since May 2012.
Egypt’s military leaders would “probably” issue a statement after the deadline expires, Ahmed Mohamed Ali, the military’s spokesman, said by phone. The showdown in Egypt is pitting the country’s first democratically elected president against those who say he’s sold out the goals of the 2011 uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak to advance Islamist interests.
Gasoline’s crack spread versus WTI widened 9 cents to $17.39 a barrel. The fuel’s premium over Brent gained 69 cents to $13.59.
EIA Report
The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to report last week’s inventories at 10:30 a.m. today in Washington.
The EIA will probably say gasoline stockpiles increased 700,000 barrels, according to the median estimate of 11 analysts in a survey by Bloomberg. Distillate supplies gained 1 million barrels while crude slipped 2.25 million, according to the survey.
The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute reported yesterday that gasoline supplies fell 183,000 barrels, crude oil inventories declined 9.36 million barrels and distillate fuels dropped 2.27 million.
Pump prices, averaged nationwide, fell 0.1 cent to $3.477 a gallon, Heathrow, Florida-based AAA said today on its website. Retail costs have retreated 21 consecutive days, dropping to the lowest level since Jan. 31.
Ultra-low-sulfur diesel, or ULSD, for August delivery rose 4.26 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $2.944 a gallon on trading volume that was 22 percent below the 100-day average.
ULSD’s crack spread versus West Texas Intermediate crude fell 13 cents to $22.13 a barrel. The premium over Brent widened 50 cents to $18.36.
Source: Bloomberg
