Gasoline rose for a third day on expectations that US refineries will slow production to convert plants to make more heating oil, reducing motor fuel inventories that already are below year-ago levels.
Gasoline demand from wholesalers was up 6.3 percent this summer from last year, according to American Petroleum Institute figures, as motorists took to the highways for summer vacations.
Such motor-fuel use contributed to a 13 percent drop in gasoline inventories from a two-year high in late June.
"We are already at a deficit and with all of the work on refineries, one has to wonder where all the gas will come from," said Chris Schachte, an analyst at GSC Energy Corp. in Atlanta.
Gasoline for October delivery rose US$0.175, or 2.2 percent, to US$0.8254 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures, which represent wholesale prices, gained 2.5 percent this week and were down 18 percent from a year ago.
"Futures prices are a valid indicator of where retail prices are headed," said Tim Evans, senior energy analyst at IFR Pegasus in New York. "We should see retail prices rising in the next couple weeks even if this rally stalls."
The average price paid by US motorists for regular gasoline fell US$0.02 to US$1.541 a gallon on Friday, the American Automobile Association said today on its Web site. Prices are down from a record US$1.718 a gallon reached on May 14, though they're up US$0.15 from a month ago.
"Retail prices often go up when a retailer's tank gets low and he orders a delivery," Evans said. ``When the retailer sees his invoice, the price on the signs will be adjusted to reflect his costs.'' Motiva Enterprises LLC will shut a unit at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery for one to two months starting Oct. 4 and Valero Energy Corp. will close a unit at its Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery on Oct. 1 for three weeks, both for maintenance projects, traders said. Neither company would confirm the schedules.
US gasoline production fell 2.7 percent last week to 7.94 million barrels a day, the lowest level since March 30, according to the API. Inventories fell 1.88 million barrels to 194.4 million. Supplies were down 2.5 percent from the year before. Refineries usually choose the spring or fall for maintenance programs.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from