Gasoline prices have risen on reduced refining capacity and aren't likely to continue their upward trajectory, Dennis Gartman, commodities trader and editor of The Gartman Letter, said Tuesday on CNBC.
On "Fast Money," he said there was an "extraordinary short squeeze" in the gasoline market, due to BP taking its Whiting, Ind., refinery off-line for maintenance until summer and Hess taking down its Port Reading, N.J., facility.
"You've taken almost half a million barrels of crude oil out of the market, out of the gasoline refining, and it's caused a very real shortage," he said. "Add to that, I think, a few people who found themselves short of paper on the NYMEX, and you took RBOB gasoline from $2.75 to $3.35.
"You've probably gotten about as much out of this as you're going to get. I have my doubts as to whether we're going to see prices move much higher than now."
But Gartman wasn't about to start shorting gasoline.
"Would I sell it short? Not with your money, certainly not with mine, but I think all of the fun – if you can use that word – has probably run its course," he said.
Gartman didn't see much of an impact in consumer spending, noting that the price of natural gas has come down as gasoline has risen.
"I think there's a great offset between what you're spending putting in your automobile and what you're spending to heat your house during the winter. I'm not sure the consumer's going to be that severely impacted," he said.
"That tends to have a greater psychological circumstance than does the benefit that would accrue to you from lower natural gas prices."
Trader disclosure: On Feb. 19, 2013, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Karen Finerman is long AAPL; Karen Finerman is long BAC; Karen Finerman is long C; Karen Finerman is long JPM; Karen Finerman is long WMT; Karen Finerman is long TGT; Karen Finerman is long MSFT; Karen Finerman is long GOOG; Karen Finerman is long GNC; Karen Finerman is short SPY; Karen Finerman is short IWM; Guy Adami is long C; Guy Adami is long GS; Guy Adami is long INTC; Guy Adami is long AGU; Guy Adami is long MSFT; Guy Adami is long NUE; Guy Adami is long BTU; Josh Brown is long AAPL; Josh Brown is long WFC; Josh Brown is long GDX; Josh Brown is long GLD; Josh Brown is long XLU; Josh Brown is long TLT; Josh Brown is long XLF; Josh Brown is long TGT; Josh Brown is long SBUX; Tim Seymour is long AAPL; Tim Seymour is long BAC; Tim Seymour is long INTC; Tim Seymour is long WMT; Tim Seymour is long SBUX; Tim Seymour is long GFI;
For Keith Moore
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For Colin Gillis
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