Clipper Oil: Latest Fuel News - Oil Up On Weak Dollar, But Starts First Week of 2023 Lower

Latest Fuel News

January 2023

Oil Up On Weak Dollar, But Starts First Week of 2023 Lower

Oil prices gained over 1% on Friday as the dollar slid on a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report, but both crude benchmarks were set to end the first week of the year lower due to global recession concerns.

Brent futures rose 80 cents, or 1.0%, to $79.49 a barrel by 12:33 p.m. EST (1733 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 96 cents, or 1.3%, to $74.63.

For the week, both Brent and WTI were down about 7% as energy markets started 2023 with biggest weekly dive to start a year since 2016. Both benchmarks had gained about 13% during the prior three weeks. Continue reading here (Source: Reuters).

Shell Lubricants Retains Ranking as Leading Global Supplier

Shell Lubricants has retained its status as the leading global supplier of finished lubricants for a 16th consecutive year, according to the 20th edition of Kline & Company’s report Global Lubricants: Market Analysis and Assessment 2021.

The report covers all leading lubricant consuming country markets, market segments, product types and formulations. Shell retains the number one ranking for all three lubricants categories tracked by Kline – consumer automotive, commercial automotive and industrial.

“Our continued leadership of the global lubricants and fluids sector reflects our success in growing our base business through a focus on higher value and premium products and differentiating products, whilst continuing to build unique commercial and technical relationships. We are now focused on transforming our business, from being the leading global lubricants supplier to be the leading lubricants and fluid solutions provider of tomorrow,” said Machteld de Haan, global executive vice president, Shell Lubricants. Continue reading here (Source: F+L Daily).

If Oil Prices Fall Further, OPEC Will Act

If the selloff in oil continues and prices continue down, OPEC may well swing into action, RBC Capital Markets’ head of global commodity strategy Helima Croft told the Australian Financial Review today.

“OPEC looks content to stay the course on the current production policy and is seeking to stay out of the confrontation between Russia and the West,” Croft said. “Nonetheless, we see clear scope for OPEC to adjust the production cut.”

OPEC+ agreed on production cuts last year as the oil price rally from earlier in 2022 fizzled out and demand concerns pushed benchmarks down. The cut, formally set at 2 million bpd from the collective production quota, but effectively at half that, should be in force until the end of this year. Continue reading here (Source: OilPrice).

Europe Gas Slumps to Lowest Since 2021 as Mild Weather Cuts Use

Natural gas prices in Europe fell back to pre-war levels, as a bout of mild weather reduced demand and eased fears of a prolonged supply crunch.

Benchmark futures fell as much as 11% as a warm spell curbs heating demand and blustery conditions cut use of gas in power generation. Mild weather has spread across the region, with temperatures breaking monthly records in several locations at the start of January. Continue reading here (Source: Bloomberg).

US Retail Gasoline Prices Rose in Summer But Ended 2022 Lower Than Start of 2022

Rising crude oil prices and increased gasoline demand early in 2022 contributed to rising U.S. retail gasoline prices in the summer, but gasoline prices ended 2022 lower than at the start of the year because of more refinery production and less demand during the second half of the year.

The average U.S. retail price for regular-grade gasoline, the price consumers pay at the pump, averaged $3.95 per gallon (gal) in 2022. The price hit its 2022 high at $5.01/gal in June 2022, before decreasing to $3.09/gal at the end of the year. At its height in mid-June, the U.S. average retail gasoline price was the highest gasoline price since 2012, when adjusted for inflation. Although the retail gasoline price increased significantly during the middle of the year and remained elevated through the end of the summer, the U.S. average retail gasoline price ended the year $0.19/gal lower than in the first week of 2022. Continue reading here (Source: US Energy Information Administration).

Oil Prices Continue Rebound in 2023, Experts Say

Crude-oil prices will continue to rebound in 2023, according to energy analysts and commodity experts.

The rebound in crude-oil prices began after Russia on Feb. 24 invaded Ukraine. Moscow planned to cut its crude output due to the price cap instituted by the G7 countries on its exports and the OPEC+ countries maintaining their production cuts.

For the past two years, commodities have had a strong run. Oil prices were volatile in 2022 as the global coronavirus pandemic continued. Continue reading here (Source: TheStreet).