Hurricane Sandy could spur gasoline shortages throughout the United States, as already-reduced refining capacity gets squeezed further, Tradition Energy's Addison Armstrong said Monday on CNBC.
On "Fast Money," the company's director of market research noted that gasoline futures saw a strong run-up in the morning, rising 4 percent before retreating.
An estimated refining capacity of 330,000 barrels a day could be taken off-line, Armstrong said.
"The longer those refineries are out, the more bullish this impact will be," he said, adding that it was an issue of an"already tight supply situation being compounded by the shut-in."
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Armstrong likened the drawdown in refining capacity by Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 storm that slammed into the Gulf Coast.
Armstrong said that the storm would likely push crude oil prices higher.
"I think that oil, particularly WTI here in the U.S., is set up for a bearish move anyway before this and certainly given the demand destruction that we're going to see over the next few days from the refinery sector, it's just going to add to should be some very large inventory numbers going forward on U.S. crude supplies," he said. "So I think just from a fundamental perspective, that is the way to play it once we come back in."
Rosecliff Capital's Mike Murphy said that with refinery capacity being taken down, natural gas was the way to go, near-term and long-term.
"We're sitting on an abundance of nat gas," he said. "I think that's the future here, so I'd be getting involved with some of those nat gas names."
Trader disclosure: On Oct. 29, 2012, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: JJ Kinahan is short SPY; Jon Najarian is long ALL Puts; Jon Najarian is long DAL Puts; Brian Kelly is short OIL.
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