Crude and refined product futures fell across the board by midday Thursday, as profit taking extended to a second session on a dollar rebound a day after the Federal Reserve signaled it's not ready to cut interest rates yet given the current inflation outlook.
At 12:05 p.m. ET, most active May NYMEX West Texas Intermediate crude futures were 45cts lower at $80.30/bbl, and front-month April WTI fell 50cts to $80.75/bbl. London-based Brent ICE futures for May and June delivery both dropped 50cts to $85.45/bbl and $84.90/bbl, respectively.
Diesel underperformed gasoline for a second consecutive day. Most active May ULSD fell 4.20cts to $2.6335/gal, and front-month April ULSD declined 4.60cts to $2.6495/gal. May RBOB slipped 1.75ct to $2.7020/gal, and April RBOB decreased 1.60ct to $2.7170/gal.
The U.S. dollar index jumped nearly 0.6%, a day after the U.S. central bank left its federal-funds rate target unchanged at 5.25%-5.5%, the highest level in more than two decades. Higher interest rates tend to strengthen the dollar and undermine economic activities as investors borrow less.
Still, petroleum futures should find support due to relentless Ukrainian long-range drone attacks at Russian refineries. Some analysts suggest Moscow would be forced to expand its six-month fuel export ban or even import gasoline due to outages at its refineries.
In research news, Bank of America energy analysts said on Wednesday gasoline prices and refinery crack spreads could rise more as the high-demand summer season approaches on a combination of factors, including low stocks, reduced production, and no indications that Ukrainian attacks on Russian refinery infrastructures will abate.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Cory Wilchek, cwilchek@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-21-24 1244ET
