MARKETWIRE ALERTS


   
Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

   MARKETWIRE ALERTS 

   MarketWire Afternoon News Aug 14th:

   Updated at 5:00 PM ET 

    

   HEADLINES:
 

   -- Midwest CBOB Basis Mixed as Group 3 Premium Trims

   -- CFTC: WTI Bullish Bets Fall as Shorts Surge

   -- Midwest, USGC Diesel Prices Up 11% on Week Amid Russia Ban

   -- Baker Hughes: Weekly North America Rigs Up by 8 to 812

    

   NEWS

    

   Midwest CBOB Basis Mixed as Group 3 Premium Trims

   Midwest CBOB cash differentials diverged Friday (8/14), with Group 3 
premiums paring recent gains while Chicago values edged slightly higher into 
the weekend.
Group 3 CBOB basis fell 7.5cts on the session to trade at a 10 cts premium over 
September NYMEX RBOB futures, relinquishing the sharp advance from Thursday 
(8/13).

   In contrast, Chicago CBOB basis maintained an upward bias, strengthening 
0.5cts on the day to trade at a 3.5cts premium to the same benchmark.

   Despite Friday's daily pullbacks in Group 3, weekly spot averages across the 
Midwest finished sharply higher week-on-week, according to DTN market data.

   For the week, Group 3 CBOB averaged $3.2615 gallon for the current week, up 
34.38cts, or 11.78%, from $2.9177 gallon the previous week.  Chicago CBOB 
regular averaged $3.1545 gallon across the week, gaining 21.42cts, or 7.29%, 
compared with $2.9403 gallon the prior week.

   The mixed cash performance unfolded against a firming paper market, with 
benchmark refined product futures rebounding to close out the week on a strong 
note. NYMEX September RBOB futures advanced $0.0561, or 1.79%, to settle at 
$3.1841 gallon on Friday. For the week, the front-month gasoline contract 
climbed nearly 7%, bolstered by geopolitical tension and persistent physical 
supply risks along the Strait of Hormuz.

   Underlying physical support across PADD 2 channels remains anchored by U.S. 
Energy Information Administration data showing regional gasoline inventories 
drawn down by 400,000 bbl to 43 million bbl for the week ended August 7. The 
weekly drawdown keeps Midwest motor gasoline stocks 4 million bbl below 
corresponding 2025 levels.

   Ongoing disruptions at the Wood River refining hub and throughput limits at 
the Lamar pipeline junction have also kept a floor under Midwest CBOB 
differentials.

    

   CFTC: WTI Bullish Bets Fall as Shorts Surge

   Money managers reduced their bullish bets in NYMEX West Texas Intermediate 
(WTI) crude during the week ended August 11 as a sharp increase in short 
positions outweighed a modest increase in long positions, Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed Friday (8/14).

   Noncommercial long positions in WTI held by money managers increased by 
6,005 contracts to 314,846 during the reference week, according to weekly 
Commitment of Traders data released by the CFTC.

   Noncommercial short positions jumped by 19,252 contracts to 215,650 during 
the same week, the CFTC data showed.

   This caused the net noncommercial long position in WTI to decline by 13,247 
contracts to 99,196. Open interest, meanwhile, increased by 5,613 contracts to 
1,892,429.

   Noncommercial spread positions in WTI fell by 5,249 contracts to 604,890 
during the same week.

   Total long positions in WTI futures increased by 10,575 contracts to 
1,817,080, while total short positions edged down by 316 contracts to 1,847,521.

    

   Midwest, USGC Diesel Prices Up 11% on Week Amid Russia Ban

   Russia's decision to maintain its emergency embargo on finished fuel exports 
through the year-end is keeping global buyers scrambling for U.S. supply, 
driving Midwest and Gulf Coast diesel prices up about 11% on the week.

   Moscow plans to lift producer diesel export restrictions as stocks 
stabilize, but continuous Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and local 
shortages mean bans on gasoline and non-producer distillates will stay through 
2026.

   Russian diesel exports have also declined as Ukrainian attacks continue to 
disrupt refinery operations, cargo data shows, adding to tightening supplies in 
the global distillate market.

   For refiners across the U.S. Gulf Coast and Midwest, the global deficit 
secures an extended window of premium pricing, shielding domestic crack spreads 
from late-summer decay.

   Gulf Coast Grade 62 ULSD spot prices averaged $4.2287 gallon for the current 
week, jumping 40.46cts, or 10.58%, higher from the previous week's average of 
$3.8242 gallon, DTN data showed.

   In the Midwest, Chicago ULSD spot prices rallied 40.22cts, or 10.90%, on the 
week to average $4.0934 gallon. Group 3 ULSD, meanwhile, jumped 38.92cts, or 
10.47%, to average $4.1079 gallon.

   West Coast refiners will largely miss out on the arbitrage windfall, as 
geographical and logistical isolation prevents PADD 5 operators from moving 
prompt gasoline or distillate batches into Atlantic Basin trade routes.

   To capture lucrative transatlantic netbacks, Gulf Coast refiners ramped up 
processing capacity during the week ended August 7, pushing regional 
utilization up to 97.9% of operable capacity, U.S. Energy Information 
Administration (EIA) data showed.

   While Gulf Coast distillate inventories rose by a modest 500,000 bbl to 41 
million bbl, regional stocks remained 3.3 million bbl below year-ago levels. 
Regional jet fuel inventories dropped by 500,000 bbl to 15.1 million bbl with 
zero waterborne imports reported.

   PADD 2 operators, meanwhile, responded to the tight physical market by 
pushing crude runs to 4.210 million bpd, driving regional refinery utilization 
to 98.6%. Despite that high run rate, Midwest distillate stocks managed only a 
600,000 bbl weekly build to 28.6 million bbl, while regional jet fuel 
inventories held completely flat at 7.7 million bbl.

   Deprived of coastal backup along the TEPPCO and Explorer pipeline networks, 
cash markets in the Midwest must rely entirely on regional processing output to 
defend spot inventory levels, driving a massive double-digit percentage surge 
in regional physical cash valuations.

   With Midwest distillate imports averaging a meager 4,000 bpd down 16,000 bpd 
from previous year levels -- physical traders across the PADD 2 distribution 
network must continue to defend regional stock levels through elevated spot 
basis bids as Cycle 1 pipeline schedules roll through.

    

   Baker Hughes: Weekly North America Rigs Up by 8 to 812

   North American energy drilling activity expanded this week, Baker Hughes' 
weekly rotary rigs report released Friday (8/14) showed, with the regional 
count rising by eight to 812.

   Year on year, rigs for Canada and the United States combined were up 90 from 
the 722 actively deployed in the exact same week of 2025.

   The weekly gain reflected a five-rig increase in the U.S. to 593 rigs, while 
Canadian drilling activity rose by three to 219 rigs. In the U.S., oil-directed 
rigs edged up by one to 455, while gas-directed drilling rose by four to 128. 
Miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at 10.

   By trajectory, horizontal U.S. rigs increased by seven to 533, directional 
rigs were unchanged at 50, and vertical rigs fell by two to 10.

    




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