Midwest CBOB Basis Weakens Despite Regional Stock Draw

SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) – The basis for Midwest CBOB widened Wednesday (7/22) as rallying NYMEX gasoline futures offset the impact of an inventory draw for the product in the PADD 2 region.

Chicago CBOB was talked at a discount of 22.5cts to August NYMEX RBOB, widening by 1.5cts on the day.

On both the Buckeye Storage Complex and Wolverine Pipeline, CBOB was cited at a 16cts discount. At Buckeye, the widening was by 3cts while for Wolverine, it was by 7cts.

Group 3 CBOB, meanwhile, traded at a 20.5cts discount, widening by 4cts on the session.

The weakening of the cash market for Midwest gasoline occurred as August NYMEX RBOB futures rose $0.0088 to end Wednesday’s session at $3.4147 gallon.

PADD 2 gasoline stocks fell by 1.2 million bbl during the week ended July 17 to reach 43.5 million bbl, the Energy Information Administration reported in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report. The current inventory level is down 2.2 million bbl compared with the 45.7 million bbl reported during the same week of 2025.

Midwest gasoline imports edged up by 1,000 bpd week-on-week to 13,000 bpd, though inbound volumes remained 6,000 bpd below year-ago levels.