Chicago CBOB Basis Up 19cts Amid Midwest Gasoline Rally


   
Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

   SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- Chicago CBOB basis surged 19cts Thursday (9/17) to 
lead broad gains across Midwest distribution networks taking their cue from a 
rally in NYMEX gasoline futures.

   With the surge, Chicago CBOB basis reached 38cts gallon premium over the 
October NYMEX RBOB contract.

   Eastern pipeline networks matched the Chicago premium after the Buckeye 
Complex CBOB basis rose 13cts while Wolverine CBOB basis climbed 8cts.

   Regional gasoline supply remains under pressure following Thursday's 
secondary incident at ExxonMobil's Joliet complex, where floodwater overwhelmed 
a pump, following the initial Sunday power outage that shut down the 275,000 
bpd facility. The refinery represents an important supplier of gasoline and 
diesel across Chicago and broader Midwest markets.

   In Midcontinent trading, Group 3 CBOB basis edged up 0.5ct to stand at a 
premium of 9cts gallon against the benchmark.

   The ongoing firming across physical markets comes despite building regional 
supply buffers. EIA data showed PADD 2 motor gasoline inventories rose 900,000 
bbl during the week ended Sept. 11 to 44.1 million bbl -- the highest level 
since late July -- despite regional refiner crude processing dropping to 4.241 
million bpd.

   Physical strength aligned with the upward momentum in futures as October 
NYMEX RBOB advanced 2.23cts, or 0.64%, to end the session at $3.5073 gallon 
after peaking at $3.5325.

    




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