MARKETWIRE ALERTS

MARKETWIRE ALERTS 

MarketWire Afternoon News for January 21st:

Updated at 5:00 PM ET 

HEADLINES:

—  API: Crude, Gasoline Build; Distillates End 9-Week Rise

— AAR: Petroleum Carloads Down 0.4% for Week to Jan. 17

— EIA: U.S. Retail Gasoline Prices Rise After 8-Week Slide

— EIA: U.S. Retail Diesel Prices Up 7.1cts on Week

— PBF’s Torrance Refinery Emergency Flare Jan. 21

— IEA Sees Hefty Surplus in Q1 as Refiners Enter Maintenance

NEWS:

API: Crude, Gasoline Build; Distillates End 9-Week Rise

DAVENPORT, FL (DTN) – U.S. crude oil stockpiles increased for a third consecutive week, while gasoline inventories posted another build and distillate stocks recorded a modest draw, snapping a nine-week streak of increases, according to inventory data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Wednesday (1/21).

U.S. commercial crude oil stocks rose by 3 million bbl during the week, easing from the 5.27 million bbl build reported the previous week.

The crude inventory build for the profiled week was accompanied by a 1.2 million bbl rise at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery point for NYMEX West Texas Intermediate futures, accelerating from a 945,000 bbl increase recorded the prior week.

Gasoline inventories increased by 6.2 million bbl, slowing from the 8.23 million bbl build reported a week earlier.

Distillate fuel oil stocks edged lower by 33,000 bbl, reversing last week’s 4.34 million bbl build and ending a nine-week stretch of inventory increases.

AAR: Petroleum Carloads Down 0.4% for Week to Jan. 17

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reports that petroleum and petroleum product carloads totaled 10,597 during the week ended January 17, declining by 0.4% from the same week a year ago.

Year-to-date, petroleum and petroleum products carloads totaled 22,371, up by 4.6% from the corresponding period of the prior year, an AAR report published on Wednesday (1/7) showed.

Total U.S. weekly rail traffic at 505,385 carloads and intermodal units in the week profiled was up by 1.1% when compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ended January 17 reached 224,783, up by 3.9% compared to the same week last year, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 280,602 containers and trailers, down by 1.1% from the previous year.

Year-to-date, U.S. railroads reported a volume of 457,586 carloads, up by 10% on the year. Intermodal units totaled 558,256, up by 1.6% from the prior year.

Total rail traffic for the first two weeks of the year was 1,015,842 carloads and intermodal units, up by 5.2% on the year.

EIA: U.S. Retail Gasoline Prices Rise After 8-Week Slide

The national average for retail regular gasoline increased in the week ended January 19, snapping an eight-week streak of declines, as prices edged higher across most U.S. regions, data from the Energy Information Administration showed Wednesday (1/21).

The U.S. average for regular gasoline climbed by 2.7cts to $2.806 gallon last week, according to the EIA’s weekly fuel pricing update, though prices remained 30.3cts lower than the same week of 2025.

East Coast (PADD 1) gasoline increased by 2.2cts to $2.763 gallon in the week ended January 19 and stood 30.6cts below the corresponding week a year earlier.

Within the East Coast, New England (PADD 1A) gasoline prices declined by 3.2cts to $2.790 gallon week over week and 23.1cts under the price in the same period last year.

Central Atlantic (PADD 1B) gasoline prices edged up by 0.3ct to $2.904 gallon last week and were 30.2cts lower than the same week in 2025.

Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C) gasoline climbed by 4.6cts to $2.667 gallon in the profiled week, remaining 32.6cts lower year over year.

Midwest (PADD 2) gasoline prices increased by 4.4cts to $2.648 gallon, while values stayed 33.7cts below the year-ago level.

Gulf Coast (PADD 3) gasoline rose by 2.2cts to $2.397 gallon in the reference week and remained 29.4cts lower than the comparable week last year.

Rocky Mountain (PADD 4) gasoline prices jumped by 7.2cts to $2.494 gallon, though prices were still sharply lower on the year, down 41.7cts.

West Coast (PADD 5) gasoline increased by 0.8ct to $3.657 gallon in the reference week and stood 21.4cts below the same week last year.

Gasoline prices on the West Coast less California rose by 1.5cts to $3.295 gallon and were 20.5cts lower year over year.

EIA: U.S. Retail Diesel Prices Up 7.1cts on Week

The national average weekly price for retail diesel fuel increased by 7.1cts as of Monday (1/19) amid higher pricing across most U.S. regions, pricing data released Wednesday (1/21) by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed.

The national average for retail diesel fuel stood at $3.53 gallon, snapping a five-week declining streak. The national average was also down by 18.5cts year-over-year. Only the New England (PADD 1A) region showed higher pricing compared with the same period last year.

Winter temperatures and heating demand in mid-January remained a factor for distillate markets, with colder conditions forecast across parts of the central and eastern U.S., supporting stronger space-heating demand.

The East Coast (PADD 1) saw average diesel prices move higher by 4cts to $3.653 gallon as of January 19, while standing down by 16.7cts year-over-year.

Weekly diesel prices in New England (PADD 1A) slipped by 0.3cts to $4.007 gallon, while remaining up by 6.3cts year-over-year.

In the Central Atlantic (PADD 1B), diesel edged lower by 1.5cts to $3.843 gallon, while standing down by 13.3cts from the same period last year.

In the Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C), diesel increased by 6.4cts to $3.548 gallon, and was down by 20.2cts year-over-year.

In the Midwest (PADD 2), diesel prices rose by 8cts to $3.445 gallon and were down by 20.3cts from the same week last year.

In the Gulf Coast (PADD 3), weekly average diesel prices climbed by 8.8cts to $3.248 gallon, while sliding by 20.7cts from a year earlier, supported by ample refining capacity and steady supply.

In the Rocky Mountain region (PADD 4), diesel increased by 6.1cts to $3.246 gallon. PADD 4 diesel was also down by 23.9cts from the same period last year.

In the West Coast (PADD 5), weekly average diesel prices rose by 7.9cts to $4.189 gallon, while marking an 11.3cts year-over-year decline.

Diesel prices at West Coast less California increased by 10.8cts to $3.782 gallon last week. Year-over-year, prices were down by 8.3cts.

California diesel prices increased by 4.5cts to $4.658 gallon on the week and were down by 14.9cts from the same period last year.

PBF’s Torrance Refinery Emergency Flare Jan. 21

PBF Energy reported emergency flaring at its 166,000 bpd Torrance, California refinery that began Wednesday (1/21) at 12:45 a.m. PT and ended at 4:42 a.m. PT, according to a filing with the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The Jan. 21 flaring event follows a series of emergency flares reported at the Torrance facility over the weekend.

PBF reported emergency flaring that began Tuesday (1/20) at 12:05 a.m. PT, as well as another incident that began Monday (1/19) at 3:22 a.m. PT, according to separate South Coast AQMD filings. Neither of those filings listed an estimated stop time.

An additional emergency flaring incident was reported earlier in the weekend, beginning Friday (1/16) at 12:00 a.m. PT, which was attributed to a mechanical/electrical malfunction, the filing said.

The emergency flaring occurred alongside planned flaring at the Torrance refinery that began January 8 at 8:29 a.m. PT and was estimated to continue through Sunday, January 18, at 11:59 p.m. That planned flaring was attributed to a “startup/shutdown,” according to the South Coast AQMD.

IEA Sees Hefty Surplus in Q1 as Refiners Enter Maintenance

The International Energy Agency in its latest monthly oil report published Wednesday (1/21) maintained its view of a significant oil surplus emerging in the first quarter of 2026.

The agency raised its world supply growth forecast by 100,000 bpd from December’s report to 2.5 million bpd. IEA also revised higher the demand growth forecast for 2026 by 70,000 bpd to 930,000 bpd on the back of normalizing economic conditions. These latest estimates imply a global oil surplus of 3.69 million bpd in 2026.

The Paris-based energy watchdog reported global supply falling for a third consecutive month in December, as a jump in Russian output failed to make up for outages in Kazakh production.

Despite soaring refinery throughput, up 2 million bpd month-on-month, global inventories continued to expand. Global observed inventories surged by 2.5 million bpd in November for the tenth month in a row, mostly in crude oil onshore stocks.

Preliminary data indicated that the inventory build extended into December, led by refined products. Refiners in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Asia increased run rates ahead of spring maintenance season. Refining margins slumped throughout last month as European middle distillate prices normalized.

Barring major supply disruptions, global oil inventories are bound to swell in the first quarter as refining throughput enters its seasonal trough.