MARKETWIRE ALERTS
Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter
MARKETWIRE ALERTS
MarketWire Afternoon News Aug 13th:
Updated at 5:00 PM ET
HEADLINES:
-- Group 3 CBOB Basis Up 7.5cts as Midwest Premiums Expand
-- AAR: Petroleum Carloads Up 11.2% for Week Ended Aug 8
-- EIA: U.S. NatGas Storage Sees 36 Bcf Weekly Injection
-- BTS: Freight TSI Drops 0.3% in June
-- BTS: U.S. Carriers Had 84.7M Passengers in May
-- CEC: California Gasoline Stocks Rise 101,000 Bbl
-- CEC: California Diesel Stocks Fall 30,000 Bbl
-- ExxonMobil Baytown Refinery Reports Unplanned Emissions
NEWS
Group 3 CBOB Basis Up 7.5cts as Midwest Premiums Expand
SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- The cash basis for Midwest Group 3 CBOB strengthened
for a second straight day Thursday (8/13) as persistent supply tightness
overshadowed weakness in benchmark futures markets.
Group 3 CBOB basis surged 7.5cts on the session to trade at a 17.5cts
premium over September NYMEX RBOB futures.
Chicago CBOB basis found upward momentum too, strengthening 4cts on the day
to trade at a 3cts premium to the same futures benchmark.
The CBOB basis for both the Buckeye Complex and Wolverine pipelines,
meanwhile, weakened by 2cts each to also trade at a premium of 3cts against
September RBOB.
The changes came as NYMEX gasoline pulled back in Thursday's trade.
September RBOB fell $0.0309, or 0.98%, to settle at $3.1228 gallon amid demand
downgrades for oil from international energy agencies IEA and OPEC that offset
the impact of supply blockades in the Strait of Hormuz.
Midwest CBOB differentials are fundamentally supported by U.S. Energy
Information Administration data released on Wednesday (8/12) that showed PADD 2
gasoline stocks declining by 400,000 bbl to 43 million bbl during the week
ended August 7.
Ongoing disruptions at the Wood River refining hub and throughput limits at
the Lamar pipeline junction have also put a floor under Midwest CBOB.
AAR: Petroleum Carloads Up 11.2% for Week Ended Aug 8
The Association of American Railroads reported that petroleum and petroleum
product carloads totaled 11,215 during the week ended August 8, up 11.2% from a
year ago.
Table of key AAR data for week ended August 8:
August 8, 2026
Cars Y/Y change
(%) Year-To-Date Cumulative
Total Carloads 231,268 1.8%
7,042,764
Petroleum and Products 11,215 11.2%
341,369
Total Intermodal Units 295,356 4.1%
8,713,571
Total Traffic 526,624 3.0%
15,756,335
EIA: U.S. NatGas Storage Sees 36 Bcf Weekly Injection
Energy Information Administration data released midmorning Thursday (8/13)
show a 36 billion cubic feet injection into U.S. natural gas storage to 3.153
trillion cubic feet in the week ended August 07.
Natural gas in U.S. storage is 0.8% lower than last year and 6.7% above the
five-year average of 2.955 Tcf.
Regionally, EIA reports the East registered a 15 Bcf injection to 693 Bcf,
2.8% more than a year ago and 5% higher than the five-year average.
Natural gas in storage in the Midwest increased 20 Bcf week-on-week to 829
Bcf, a 4.5% surplus compared to the same week a year ago and 7.1% higher than
the five-year average.
Mountain region natural gas in storage increased 2 Bcf, down 5.2%
year-on-year to 14.4% above the five-year average.
South Central storage rose 3 Bcf to 1093 Bcf, 5.2% less than in the same
week last year and 4.3% above the five-year average.
BTS: Freight TSI Drops 0.3% in June
The Freight Transportation Services Index fell 0.3% in June from May,
according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics data released Thursday (8/13).
The index declined for the third consecutive month, reaching a reading of 134.9.
Year-over-year, the freight index dropped 1.7% compared with the June 2025
level of 137.3. The Freight TSI measures the amount of freight carried by the
nation's for-hire transportation industry.
The monthly decrease was driven by downturns in air freight, rail carloads,
pipeline shipments and water transportation. Conversely, rail intermodal and
trucking volumes posted gains during June.
In broader economic indicators, Federal Reserve Board industrial production
rose 0.1% in June, while manufacturing output remained flat. Mining output
increased by 0.4%, and utilities output also grew 0.4% during the month.
Housing starts surged 19.0% in June to 1,427,000 units following a sharp
drop in May. Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Index
slipped 0.7 percentage points to 53.3%.
BTS revised the May freight TSI down to 135.3 from the previously reported
136.7 level. The agency scheduled the release of the July 2026 index for Sept.
9, 2026.
BTS: U.S. Carriers Had 84.7M Passengers in May
U.S. airlines carried 84.7 million systemwide passengers in May, a 0.9%
increase from the same month last year, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics
reported Thursday (8/13).
BTS reported 73.8 million domestic passengers and 10.9 million international
passengers on U.S. airlines flights in May throughout the month.
When adjusted for seasonality, May enplanements edged up 0.1% from April and
were 3.2% below the all-time high reached in June 2024.
Systemwide unadjusted passenger numbers fell 2.7% from the May 2024 all-time
high of 87.1 million. Domestic boardings totaled 73.8 million, down 2.7% from
the 75.8 million recorded that month, while international boardings fell 2.9%
to 10.9 million, compared with 11.3 million previously recorded.
CEC: California Gasoline Stocks Rise 101,000 Bbl
CEC: Weekly Fuels Watch - California Gasoline Stocks and Production
For week ended: August 7, 2026
Refinery Stocks (bbl)
Production (bbl)
10,458,000
5,750,000
W/W 101,000
689,000
1.0%
13.6%
Y/Y -1,671,000
5,907,000
-13.7%
-2.7%
Source: California Energy CommissionCEC: California Diesel Stocks Fall 30,000
Bbl
CEC: Weekly Fuels Watch - California Diesel Stocks and Production
For week ended: August 7, 2026
Refinery Stocks (bbl) Production (bbl)
2,399,000 1,197,000
W/W -30,000 -259,000
-1.3% -17.8%
Y/Y -10,267,000 6,097,000
-81.3% -80.4%
ExxonMobil Baytown Refinery Reports Unplanned Emissions
ExxonMobil reported an unplanned flaring event at its Flexicoker unit at its
588,000 bpd Baytown refinery, the third-largest in the United States, according
to an initial report with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The event was discovered at 6:16 p.m. CT on Tuesday (8/11) and lasted
approximately 5 hours and 43 minutes, ending just before midnight, the filing
stated.
"An unanticipated equipment shutdown resulted in an unplanned unit upset and
safe utilization of the flare system," ExxonMobil said.
Gases were routed to six flare stacks -- Flare 4, 6, 11, 15, 17, and 25 --
after the Flexicoker Compressor (C-303) experienced an unplanned unit upset,
triggering safe utilization of the facility's flare system.
The largest single-contaminant release was sulfur dioxide from Flare Stack
25, estimated at 19,535 pounds. Combined sulfur dioxide emissions across all
six flares totaled approximately 20,380 pounds. Carbon monoxide emissions
exceeded 2,040 pounds combined, while hydrogen sulfide released totaled roughly
323 pounds. The carcinogen 1,3-butadiene was also detected across all six flare
points.
ExxonMobil stated operators made timely adjustments to stabilize operations
and that available information indicates no adverse environmental impact to the
site or surrounding community. The company said there is minimal impact to
production and that it expects to meet contractual commitments.
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