MARKETWIRE ALERTS

MARKETWIRE ALERTS 

MarketWire Afternoon News July 17th:

Updated at 5:00 PM ET 

HEADLINES:

— USGC Weekly: Jet Fuel Leads Spot Price Rally

— Midwest Weekly: Chicago Jet Leads Surge in Global Squeeze

— USWC Weekly: Fuel Spot Prices Rise Tracking Futures Rally

— AAR: Petroleum Carloads Up 6.0% for Week Ended July 11

— Baker Hughes: Weekly North America Rigs Rise By 26 to 786

— Analysis: U.S. Refining Margins Soar on Gasoline Shortage

NEWS:

USGC Weekly: Jet Fuel Leads Spot Price Rally

U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) fuel spot prices strengthened during the week ended July 17, supported by a decline in gasoline inventories, which fell to their lowest level in nearly eight years, while crude oil stocks remained near five-month lows. The drawdown in stockpiles was fueled by renewed concerns over potential disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.

Jet fuel posted the strongest weekly advance, rising 67.82cts, or 23.19%, week over week to average $3.6022 gallon, as the USGC continued to serve as a critical supplier to the global aviation market. The weekly jet fuel spot price average was 58.49% above the corresponding period of the previous year.

Ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) spot prices also rallied on the week, increasing 55.50cts, or 16.25%, to average $3.9715 gallon. This was 71.83% higher than the value reported during the same period last year. Firm seasonal demand combined with constrained global supply following Russia’s export restrictions after Ukrainian drone strikes targeted key refinery facilities provided the primary support for the diesel spot rally.

On gasoline, CBOB regular in the USGC region increased 28.82cts, or 10.15%, to average $3.1270 gallon on a weekly basis and was 65.02% higher than during the same period last year.

The weekly advances came as front-month WTI crude futures climbed roughly 13% during the week, moving above the $80 bbl threshold from the previous Friday’s settlement of $71.41 bbl to settle at $82.49 bbl. The rally was driven by renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran, along with escalating concerns over the Strait of Hormuz.

Mixed inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration underscored continued tightness in the Gulf Coast fuels market. PADD 3 gasoline inventories fell by 900,000 bbl to 75.5 million bbl during the week ended July 10, the lowest level since the week ended September 22, 2017, when stocks were 74.2 million bbl. Inventories remained 9 million bbl below the same week of the previous year, while gasoline imports declined to 29,000 bpd from 59,000 bpd the prior week.

Distillate fuel oil inventories increased by 2 million bbl to 45.9 million bbl, though stocks remained near historically tight seasonal levels. Inventories were 2.7 million bbl above the same week of the previous year. Meanwhile, jet fuel inventories increased by 500,000 bbl to 17.1 million bbl, standing 2.2 million bbl above the comparable week of the previous year.

PADD 3 crude oil inventories fell by 1.3 million bbl to 235.9 million bbl, the lowest level since the week ended February 27, 2026, and 4.9 million bbl below the same week of the previous year. Crude imports increased slightly to 846,000 bpd from 841,000 bpd the prior week.

Refining activity in the U.S. Gulf Coast remained elevated, with refinery utilization increasing to 97.1% from 96.5% as crude oil inputs rose to 9.507 million bpd. Several facilities reported isolated emission events, including Phillips 66’s 277,000 bpd Sweeny refinery, CITGO’s 167,000 bpd Corpus Christi West refinery, and Alon USA’s 74,000 bpd Big Spring refinery. However, no prolonged outages or major regional supply disruptions were reported.

Midwest Weekly: Chicago Jet Leads Surge in Global Squeeze

Midwest spot fuel prices retained their upward momentum during the week ended July 17, with aviation fuel again leading the surge amid global supply constraints forced by the Russia-Ukraine war and regional refinery bottlenecks.

Chicago jet fuel skyrocketed by 51.96cts to a weekly average of $3.4221 gallon, pricing data monitored by DTN showed. That left the product up $1.2738 from its year-ago average, representing an annual jump of 58%.

Group 3 ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) posted the second largest regional advance, climbing 39.96cts to finish at a weekly average of $3.5391 gallon. On the year, the premium distillate product stood a massive $1.2063 higher than its corresponding 2025 average.

Group 3 jet fuel also recorded stellar gains by rising 38.91cts to a weekly average of $3.7266 gallon. That closing value leaves the regional spot price $1.4013 higher than the same week last year.

Chicago ULSD recorded another significant regional increase by climbing 36.21cts on the week to finish at a weekly average of $3.3806 gallon.

The surge in jet fuel and other distillate prices comes amid a Russian ban on diesel exports following Ukrainian attacks on the country’s refineries which have stifled refining capacity and deepened the global deficit in middle distillates.

The crunch is compounding localized physical pressures in the PADD 2 region, where processing slack remains thin due to an ongoing labor dispute at BP’s 440,000 bpd Whiting refinery.

On the gasoline front, Chicago CBOB regular edged up 19.60cts to a weekly average of $3.0567 gallon. That weekly advance leaves the benchmark fuel price $1.1391 higher than the corresponding period last year.

USWC Weekly: Fuel Spot Prices Rise Tracking Futures Rally

U.S. West Coast gasoline, diesel and jet fuel spot prices climbed for a second straight week through July 24, tracking a rally in futures markets as traders priced in tighter supply risks amid escalating Middle East hostilities and a renewed blockade threat of the Strait of Hormuz.

Los Angeles ULSD spot values posted the sharpest increase for a third consecutive week, rising by 59.57cts, or 16.77%, to $4.1487 gallon. Prices were 60.13% higher than the same period a year earlier. San Francisco diesel values climbed 51.63cts, or 14.85%, to $3.9938 gallon, up 48.21% from the previous year.

Across the U.S. West Coast, Portland sub-octane regular gasoline recorded the largest weekly increase among gasoline grades, rising 25.21cts, or 8.56%, to $3.1984 gallon during the week ending July 24. Prices were 47.22% above the same period of the previous year.

Los Angeles and San Francisco jet fuel spot prices averaged $3.7242 gallon, increasing 42.77cts, or 12.97%, from the previous week. Year over year, prices in both markets were 55.56% higher.

The weekly advances came as front-month WTI crude futures climbed from the previous Friday’s settlement of $81 bbl to settle at $82.49 bbl Friday, supported by renewed concerns over the Iran conflict and potential disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. West Coast gasoline and distillate inventories declined last week while jet fuel stocks increased in the week ended July 4, Energy Information Administration data showed.

Motor gasoline inventories in the PADD 5 region rose 500,000 bbl to 29.4 million bbl during the week ended July 10, the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report showed. Year-on-year, stocks were down 1.8 million bbl.

U.S. West Coast distillate fuel oil inventories fell 200,000 bbl to 10.9 million bbl during the reference week but were 400,000 bbl higher than the volume seen in the same period last year, EIA data showed. Jet fuel stocks in the region fell by 200,000 bbl to 12.1 million bbl but were 600,000 bbl higher than the previous year.

Crude oil inventories in PADD 5 rose by 800,000 bbl to 46.1 million bbl during the reporting week but were 2.5 million bbl lower than the same week last year. Crude imports increased by 29,000 bpd to 939,000 bpd and were 283,000 bpd lower compared with the same week of the previous year.

Refinery utilization on the West Coast slipped to 90.2% from 91% the previous week, according to EIA data.

On Tuesday (7/14), PBF Energy reported a planned week-long flaring event at its 166,000 bpd Torrance, California, refinery, according to a filing with the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Flaring began at 9:26 a.m. PT on Monday (7/13) and is expected to continue until 11:59 p.m. PT on Monday (7/20), the filing stated.

AAR: Petroleum Carloads Up 6.0% for Week Ended July 11

The Association of American Railroads reported that petroleum and petroleum product carloads totaled 11,847 during the week ended July 11, up 6.0% from a year ago.

U.S. Rail Traffic

Week 27, 2026 – Ended July 11, 2026

Baker Hughes: Weekly North America Rigs Rise By 26 to 786

North American energy drilling activity increased this week, Baker Hughes weekly rotary rigs report released Friday (7/17) showed, with the regional count of active rigs growing by 26 to 786, from a prior 760.

Year on year, rigs for Canada and the United States combined were up 70 from the 716 actively deployed in the exact same week of 2025.

The present week’s higher numbers showed synchronized domestic increases, as the U.S. tally rose by seven while Canadian activity jumped significantly by 19 rigs.

In the U.S. alone, oil-directed rigs increased by seven to 452, while gas-directed drilling numbers held steady at 126. Miscellaneous rigs in the domestic market were also flat to stand at a total of 10.

By trajectory, horizontal U.S. rigs increased by seven to 524, vertical units fell by one to 12, and directional rigs rose by one to 49.

Analysis: U.S. Refining Margins Soar on Gasoline Shortage

The 3:2:1 crack spread versus WTI broke the $70 bbl mark in intraday trading Thursday (7/17),  the first time it has reached that level on record. As U.S. fuels inventories are rapidly shrinking, the spread in late June soared eclipsing its Iran-war highs from May and surpassing the previous record set in April 2022 during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The divergence between crude oil and oil product futures was partly brought upon by the sudden resurgence of crude supply from the Middle East, even as global refinery runs were still at multi-year lows.  Over the past four months, the largest oil supply disruption in history has eroded crude demand much more significantly than consumer’s fuel demand. At the same time, fuels supply was just as affected as crude supply, and all this came against a backdrop of the global crude market tilting into record oversupply at the beginning of the year while the refined products balance remained level. The resurgence of Persian Gulf exports last month consequently sent crude prices plunging, while product futures held on to a significant portion of their war-gains.

On July 2, when oil prices reached their post-war nadir ahead of the most recent re-escalation in fighting between the United States and Iran, front-month NYMEX WTI crude futures contract contract closed at $68.69 bbl, up 2.5% from February 27 close, the last trading day before the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began. ULSD futures in contrast, closed at $3.1822 gallon, up 19%, and RBOB was up 40% from pre-war levels at $2.9173 gallon.

Another main driving force behind this uneven price development was the unprecedented rate of depletion in U.S. fuel inventories, particularly gasoline, which within three months plummeted from a five-year seasonal high to a 14-year seasonal low. Nationwide gasoline stockpiles fell to 210.5 million bbl last week, the least for this time of year since 2012, down 9.6% year-on-year and 8.4% below the five-year average.

The pace of gasoline inventory draws since early April was three to four times faster than is typical for the season and came as a direct result of the Strait of Hormuz supply crisis. Refined product exports soared during the Strait supply disruption, further tightening inventories, while U.S. refiners optimized operations toward maximizing yields of products most affected by the crisis, including jet fuel at the expense of gasoline output.

U.S. refiners have little scope to ramp up crude throughputs given utilization is already near maximum capacity. A sustained global supply disruption caused by a renewed conflict, just as demand is reaching its seasonal peak, will have inventories dwindle fast and give them little room for error. All this comes after months of margin-incentivized break-neck pace refining, which greatly increases maintenance needs and outage risks. Given the recent trajectory of crack spreads, domestic refiners will have no reason to slow down – at least not voluntarily.