LA ULSD Regular Basis Spikes by 28cts on High Demand

MIAMI, FL (DTN) — The basis of April Los Angeles ULSD regular hit a premium of 36cts Monday (3/23) after surging 28cts from where it was last pinned at, amid data showing firm demand and limited supplies.

The premium, previously at 8cts on Friday (3/20), escalated as data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed refining utilization in the West Coast, or PADD 5, declining to 79.8% during the week ended March 13, from a prior 83.8%.

Distillate fuel oil stocks in PADD 5 fell by 500,000 bbl to 11.5 million bbl week-over-week, the EIA data showed. Inventories were also down, by 1.1 million bbl compared to last year. Distillate imports, meanwhile, climbed by 13,000 bpd to 33,000 bpd in the respective week and were higher by 19,000 bpd year-over-year.