A desalter unit in an oil refinery removes salts, water, and other impurities from crude oil.  We wanted to post a joke about sodium but we were like Na, people won’t get it. Now that the kids are all back to school, perhaps you’ll help them with their science homework. We hope everyone had a nice Labor Day weekend and a warm and restful summer. At the end of summer. the grills are cooling down, the tank tops are packed away, and the U.S. summer driving season—the annual peak for gas demand—is officially behind us. After that, it's all pumpkin spice and fuel-switching to winter blends – release the vapor pressure! What does that mean for oil? A market tug-of-war, with supply concerns pulling one way and demand worries yanking the other. The rope barely moves, and you just get a bunch of tired, sweaty people standing in a muddy field. US WTI is still hanging around, hanging around, at around $64/bbl. He beat me. Pay that man his money.

On the supply side, OPEC+ is set to formalize another round of production increases, adding more barrels to a market already flush with them. This is coming as the U.S. is hitting record high production, with EIA data showing an increase to 13.58 million bpd in June. On the demand side, the end of summer means less driving, and China's manufacturing activity has shrunk for a fifth straight month, suggesting a global economic slowdown. Meanwhile, war tensions provide a floor for prices. Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure are disrupting exports, with weekly shipments from Russian ports dropping to a four-week low.  And back on our shores, U.S. crude inventories posted larger-than-expected draws, giving bulls a reason to flex their biceps.    Of course, we still have the tariff yo-yo creating anxiety about which way to go. It’s like when Moe Howard was on the rocking chair looking for his nerve medicine while yelling at his cat to quit stomping around. Meanwhile India is stocking up on Russian crude like it’s Black Friday at the energy aisle. And as always, whether oil is climbing, falling, or spinning in place and if the chemical space finally gets hit with a defibrillator —The Tank Tiger is carefully watching.   Sign up for the mytanktiger.com platform and you can watch the storage inquiries and storage avails pop up in realtime. We have over 1000 users and 600 different companies actively engaged in playing whack a mole. What are you waiting for? Join the fun – it’s free.

In other news, two of three tankers carrying Venezuelan crude have discharged in the U.S., signaling a return of supply after a long absence. This could drop prices for heavy sour crude grades from Colombia and Mexico. Meanwhile, the EPA has granted a majority of small refiners' requests for waivers from biofuel mandates, but with some key limitations in order to stabilize the volatile RIN market and prevent a flood of credits, which is good news for biofuel producers. Speaking of renewable energy, U.S. Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy late Friday afternoon announced the DOT would quash $679 million in funding for “12 doomed offshore wind projects across America... that were not aligned with the goals and priorities of the administration.” The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind…the answer is blowing in the wind.

The Fed remains in the spotlight as a Q2 GDP revision and tame PCE data kept a September rate cut on the table. Traders are still betting that the Fed will cut rates to prevent a weakening labor market from turning into a full-blown recession. Some officials believe the risks to employment now outweigh inflation concerns. That is, of course, if you believe the numbers.