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Brent Up on Iran; Refinery Work Lifts US Gasoline
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Brent crude prices rose a second straight day on Friday as Iran's upcoming parliamentary vote on halting exports to the European Union kept supply uncertainty in focus and another U.S. refinery problem helped send gasoline futures surging.
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Oil Refinery in Elizabeth. N.J. |
Brent and U.S. crude posted weekly gains, but U.S. prices ended the day lower, pressured by data showing that the U.S. economy grew by only a 2.8 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter. While that was its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years, it was less than the 3.0 percent expected.
U.S. gasoline futures jumped to their highest since late August on news that ConocoPhillips shut a gasoline-making unit at its Bayway refinery in New Jersey to repair a mechanical problem.
The Bayway problem added to concerns about supply sparked by closures and slated closings of other U.S. refineries and the insolvency filing of Europe's Petroplus.
"(U.S.) crude oil prices are under pressure due to the disappointing Q4 GDP reading, and would likely be much lower except for the support given to the complex by gasoline from the Bayway outage," John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York, said.
"The multiplicity of issues surrounding the refining industry at the moment look to continue to underpin prices in the otherwise poor demand environment," Kilduff said.
Brent crude futures [LCOCV1 Loading... ()] rose 67 cents to settle at $111.46 a barrel, off its $111.99 intraday peak. Brent posted a 1.46 percent weekly rise.
U.S. crude [CLCV1 Loading... ()] fell 14 cents to settle at $99.56 a barrel, having swung from $99.13 to $100.63. For the week, it posted a 1.1 percent gain.
U.S. gasoline futures [RBCV1 Loading... ()] rose 8.02 cents to settle at $2.9268 a gallon, after reaching $2.9677. U.S. heating oil futures [HOH2 Loading... ()], the distillate benchmark, also rose.
U.S. crude trading volume was tepid, 17 percent below the 30-day average in post-settlement trading. Brent turnover was 24 percent above the 30-day average.
U.S. gasoline trading volume doubled its 30-day average.
The Bayway news sent gasoline barge prices higher in northwest Europe and pushed refining margins to four-month highs and New York Harbor spot gasoline differentials also strengthened.
The Bayway news came after Hess Energy said earlier this week it was evaluating maintenance options at its New Jersey refinery, including a turnaround in February, and the Hess joint-venture Hovensa LLC refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands is already shutting down.
Iran Mulls Halting EU Supply
Iran's parliament on Sunday will consider a measure calling for a halt in oil exports to the EU as early as next week, in advance of the bloc's embargo of Iranian oil set for July as the West's dispute over Tehran's nuclear program continues.
Royal Dutch Shell, one of the biggest consumers of Iranian crude, said it will implement the terms of the EU embargo but will need some time to study details of the sanctions which are likely to push oil prices higher, chief executive Peter Voser said.
Middle East producer Oman said it is willing to sell crude oil to Sri Lanka, another nation looking for alternatives to its threatened primary supply from Iran.
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