MARKETWIRE ALERTS

MARKETWIRE ALERTS 

MarketWire Afternoon News for December 23rd

Updated at 5:00 PM ET 

HEADLINES:

— API: U.S. Crude Builds; Gasoline, Distillates Rise

— New Mexico Renewable Energy Plant to Scale Up to 1Gw

— Conference Board: U.S. Consumer Confidence at 7-Month Lows

— BEA: US Q3 GDP Up 4.3% on Year vs Wall St. 3.3% Forecast

— Analysis: Diesel at Risk Despite Hit to U.S. EV Chargers

— EIA: U.S. Retail Diesel Prices Down 6.3cts on Week

— EIA: U.S. Retail Gasoline Average Falls 5.4cts on Week

NEWS:

API: U.S. Crude Builds; Gasoline, Distillates Rise

U.S. crude oil stockpiles increased last week, snapping a two-week drawdown amid builds as well in gasoline and distillates, according to inventory data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) late on Tuesday (12/23).

U.S. commercial crude oil stocks rose by 2.4 million bbl during the week, the API data showed. The build follows a 9.3 million bbl draw reported by API the prior week.

The crude inventory rise for the profiled week coincided with a 600,000 bbl increase at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery point for NYMEX West Texas Intermediate futures that reversed a 510,000-bbl draw recorded the previous week.

Gasoline inventories rose by 1.1 million bbl, adding to the 4.8 million bbl build in the prior week.

Distillate fuel oil stocks climbed by 700,000 bbl, after a 2.5 million bbl rise the previous week.

New Mexico Renewable Energy Plant to Scale Up to 1Gw

New Mexico is poised to see a renewable energy plant with an initial generation capacity of 500 megawatts by 2028 and one gigawatt by 2032, the project’s developer announced Tuesday (12/23).

Project Green, as it is called, will create in southern New Mexico one of the largest arrays of renewable energy generation infrastructure in the state, developer BorderPlex Digital Assets announced.

The project will evaluate solar and other renewable energy resources, including wind, geothermal and hybrid configurations, that can support long-term reliability and performance, the company added.

Conference Board: U.S. Consumer Confidence at 7-Month Lows

U.S. consumer confidence fell for a fifth straight month in December to the lowest in seven months, the Conference Board said in a report Tuesday (12/23).

The Conference Board reported that its headline confidence index dropped to 89.1 this month, reinforcing a trend seen since August and approaching levels last seen back in April. This was despite an upward revision to 92.9 in November that reflected a slightly higher sentiment, following the end of a record-long federal government shutdown between October and middle of November.

“Consumer confidence fell again in December and remained well below this year’s January peak,” Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, said in a statement.  “Four of five components of the overall index fell, while one was at a level signaling notable weakness.”

The confidence index is a gauge of the household optimism that fuels roughly 70% of the U.S. economy through personal spending and is closely watched by market analysts.

While the short-term expectations index for personal income and business conditions remained stable at 70.7, the confidence index itself has remained below the recession-warning threshold for 11 months.

Consumers’ assessments of their current economic situation tumbled by nearly 10 points, primarily driven by concerns over rising prices despite various claims from the White House regarding inflation.

Write-in survey responses highlighted that the combination of high cost of living and sweeping trade policies remained the primary source of economic stress for most domestic households today.

The deteriorating sentiment underscores the growing challenges for the broader economy as consumers struggle with the dual pressures of restrictive monetary policy and complex global trade dynamics.

BEA: US Q3 GDP Up 4.3% on Year vs Wall St. 3.3% Forecast

The U.S. economy expanded at a 4.3% annualized rate in the third quarter, faster than the 3.3% rate forecast by Wall Street, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Tuesday (12/23) that showed resilient consumer and business spending despite concerns about the impact on inflation from high tariffs.

This surge in gross domestic product significantly outpaced most economist estimates, underscoring growth momentum despite a record-long federal government shutdown throughout October and the first half of November.

Corporate profits and record investments in artificial intelligence data centers contributed to the expansion, the BEA data showed, although inventory fluctuations and a decline in residential investment weighed on the final analysis.

Policymakers at the Federal Reserve are balancing economic performance against a softening labor market and higher living costs brought on by varying tariffs of between 10% and 100% levied by the Trump administration on imports from most countries.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index for November grew at an annualized rate of 2.7% in November, lower than the 3.1% forecast by Wall Street, but higher than the Fed’s long-term 2% target. The central bank’s chairman Jerome Powell signaled on December 10, after the third straight U.S. rate cut of 50 basis points for this year, that there may just be one round of easing in 2026 due to inflationary concerns.

Yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, a proxy for hawkish monetary policy, rose for a third straight day after the release of the third-quarter GDP numbers. Wall Street’s S&P 500 rose by 0.2%. The February delivery contract for WTI on NYMEX showed a 0.2% increase amid volatile trading.

Analysis: Diesel at Risk Despite Hit to U.S. EV Chargers

The U.S. highway charging network for electric vehicles (EV), deemed a threat particularly to diesel demand, has been fragmented by federal policy overhauls aimed at protecting fossil fuels. But diesel refiners and distributors are still at risk as states aggressively pursue electrification plans.

The stalling of the highway charging network project pushed by the Biden Administration began with an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump in January that froze the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. This project has dedicated $5 billion to building fast-charging corridors along major U.S. highways.

The freeze, lasting several months, led to lawsuits from more than a dozen states, including California, New York and Illinois.

In August, the Department of Transportation (DOT) unveiled revised NEVI guidance, allowing states to resume accessing funds for the EV corridor. However, the new rules removed the requirement for charging stations to be spaced every 50 miles.

The DOT stated that the goal was to allow states to build charging infrastructure independently instead of a federally mandated corridor map.

Two-Speed System for EV Chargers

That led to a ‘two-speed system’ for the highway charging network – a market divergence where “fast-track” states with strong EV mandates, like California, continue rapid deployment, while “slow-track” states deprioritize charging infrastructure in favor of traditional fossil fuel support.

Pennsylvania announced by September that it had achieved “full build-out certification” for its core corridors – a regulatory milestone that allows it to spend on projects beyond just major highways. As of October, over 121 NEVI-funded stations were operational across 16 states, and new charging sites began to take shape despite federal uncertainty.

But the EV charging community was hit by a new surprise in November by another Trump executive order that imposed a 25% tariff on imported medium- and heavy-duty vehicle parts, which had a secondary but significant impact on highway charging.

Large-scale charging hubs designed for commercial trucks – which require massive transformers and specialized components often sourced globally – were also hit by other tariff-related price spikes in charging hardware.

Several states reported in late November that private contractors were pausing bids largely because of tariffs that made the 80% federal cost-share insufficient to cover rising equipment costs.

For many regional EV charger projects, the math for federal cost-sharing “essentially broke” with the new tariffs, noted Emil Koenig, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. He was referring to the 80% federal cost-share that was no longer enough to cover the inflated equipment costs.

Some states also reported that DOT had stopped approving new funding for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure discretionary grant that had billions of dollars left in unallocated NEVI funding.

While the federal actions had fragmented the charging network that would be the backbone for the conversion of regular trucks to electric, the diesel market hasn’t been spared of anxiety.

For companies involved in diesel refining and distribution, the uneven pace of construction in the highway charging network means a risk of not knowing which highway corridors might suddenly see a spike in charging facilities.

Diesel Still at Risk 

Eliminating the threat of “range anxiety” —the fear that an electric truck will run out of power before reaching a destination — has always been a focus of the EV industry.  That target is now concentrated geographically as states like California and Georgia continue pushing their EV agendas aggressively despite the crippling of many Biden-era incentives.

The California Energy Commission, the lead state agency overseeing investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, is deploying up to $100 million annually through its Clean Transportation Program to support cleaner transportation and alternative fuels. The state also has set goals of placing 1.5 million zero emission vehicles on California roads by 2025 and 5 million by 2030. These targets would ultimately require a streamlined charging network.

Georgia is utilizing $135 million in NEVI funds secured earlier to develop “Alternative Fuel Corridors” along major interstates to support commercial EV adoption. The Georgia State Transportation Board announced on November 20 that it has approved $24.4 million for 26 new charging locations, signaling that the Southeast’s momentum remains unphased by federal shifts.

The diesel market is also at risk from private sector initiatives like Hyundai’s plan to start by 2030 construction of body-on-frame midsize pickup trucks at its $7.6 billion Metaplant America in Bryan County, Georgia.

By producing midsize electric pickup trucks and deploying hydrogen fuel-cell heavy-duty trucks for its own logistics, Hyundai is reducing the captive diesel demand usually generated by manufacturing and regional freight. This represents a structural shift: as the vehicles moving goods become electric, local demand for diesel supply inevitably shrinks.

In California, diesel is 33% more expensive than the national average at $4.71 gallon, providing a powerful cost advantage for commercial fleets that go electric. Cost-per-mile for a typical heavy-duty truck in California is $0.74 for diesel and $0.50 for electric, state data shows.  

In Georgia, diesel is 1.6% below the national average at $3.55 per gallon, yet cost-per-mile of a typical heavy-duty truck is $0.55 for diesel and $0.22 for electric.

California distillate inventories are roughly 4% lower than a year ago but that is mainly due to the permanent conversion of major facilities like the Phillips 66 Rodeo refinery to renewable diesel rather than demand. Diesel stockpiles in Georgia are nearly 6% higher year-on-year, driven by a regional supply imbalance where cooling industrial demand has allowed stocks to build up despite stable import levels from the Gulf Coast.

In summary, the elimination of diesel refiners’ anxiety over EV corridor deployment will depend increasingly on state action, private-sector commitments and market dynamics, even with the federal agenda to protect fossil fuels.

EIA: U.S. Retail Diesel Prices Down 6.3cts on Week

The national average weekly price for retail diesel fuel fell by 6.3cts as of Monday (12/22) amid decreases across all U.S. regions despite freezing temperatures that typically boost demand for distillates-reliant heating, pricing data released Tuesday (12/23) by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed.

The national average for retail diesel fuel stood at $3.544 gallon, after its third straight weekly decline. But that average was still up 6.8cts year-on-year, according to the EIA pricing data.

Lower diesel supply versus 2024 has kept year-on-year prices supported despite weekly variances. Freezing temperatures even prior to the weekend start of the 2025/26 winter season have limited the downside in diesel prices, a proxy for heating oil.

In the Midwest (PADD 2), diesel prices dropped by 8.4cts to $3.483 gallon during the week ended December 22, posting one of the larger weekly declines among all PADD regions. Even so, Midwest diesel stood 3.4cts higher than the same week last year.

The East Coast (PADD 1) saw average diesel prices move lower by 2.9cts to $3.674 gallon as of December 22, while staying 10.6cts above the same period last year, as colder temperatures began to lift heating oil demand in the region.

On the East Coast as well, weekly diesel prices in New England (PADD 1A) fell by 1.7cts to $4.047 gallon, while staying up 29cts year-on-year, in a region more directly exposed to winter heating demand that draws from the distillate pool.

In the Central Atlantic (PADD 1B), diesel slipped by 5.2cts to $3.892 gallon, while being 12.9cts higher on the year.

In the Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C) – where milder temperatures limited winter-driven demand – diesel fell by 2.3cts to $3.557 gallon, while remaining up 8.1cts year-on-year.

In the Gulf Coast (PADD 3), weekly average diesel prices declined by 5.3cts to $3.214 gallon, while holding 6cts above year-ago levels, supported by ample refining capacity and steady supply.

The Rocky Mountain region (PADD 4) dropped by 8.1cts to $3.304 gallon while remaining 2.4cts above the same period last year.

West Coast (PADD 5) weekly average diesel prices fell by 8.9cts to $4.205 gallon, while marking a 12.6cts year-on-year rise, as winter-grade diesel production and higher costs continued to influence prices.

Diesel prices at West Coast less California decreased by 10.5cts to $3.871 gallon last week, registering the largest drop among U.S. regions. Year-on-year, it was down 12.1cts.

California retail diesel prices declined by 7cts to $4.711 gallon on the week but stood 13.1cts higher on the year, reflecting both seasonal demand and ongoing supply constraints.

EIA: U.S. Retail Gasoline Average Falls 5.4cts on Week

The national average for retail regular gasoline declined in the week ended December 22, with prices falling across every major U.S. region, data from the Energy Information Administration showed Tuesday (12/23).

The U.S. average for regular gasoline fell by 5.4cts to $2.841 gallon last week, standing 18.3cts lower from the same week of last year, the EIA’s weekly update on fuel pricing showed.

East Coast (PADD 1) gasoline slipped 2.2cts to $2.82 gallon in the week ended December 22, while sitting 12.5cts lower than the same period last year.

Within the East Coast, New England (PADD 1A) prices decreased 3.8cts to $2.887 gallon week over week and were 9.1cts lower year-on-year.

Central Atlantic (PADD 1B) gasoline prices dropped 4.8cts to $2.964 gallon last week, while standing 10.7cts lower than the same week last year.

Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C) gasoline prices dipped 0.2cts to $2.714 gallon in the profiled week and were 14.5cts lower than the previous year.

Midwest (PADD 2) prices tumbled 8.5cts to $2.605 gallon, standing 33cts below the same period the previous year.

Prices for the same product in the Gulf Coast (PADD 3) fell 4.9cts to $2.443 gallon, standing 20.4cts lower than last year.

Rocky Mountain (PADD 4) gasoline declined by 5.5cts to $2.492 gallon in the reference week, standing 39.5cts lower year-on-year.

West Coast (PADD 5) gasoline prices slid 8.3cts to $3.768 gallon, but stood 0.7cts lower than the corresponding week of the previous year.

Gasoline prices at West Coast less California decreased 7.9cts to $3.422 gallon in the reference week, while standing 0.5cts lower year-on-year.