NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - Cash differentials for RBOB gasoline surged on Tuesday after a refinery that has faced operational issues in recent days bid higher for supplies, traders said.
Exxon purchased around 10,000 barrels of Chicago RBOB in the session at a premium of a dollar over the RBOB gasoline futures benchmark on the New York Mercantile Exchange, market participants said. Chicago RBOB traded 30 cents above benchmark in the previous session, and 18 cents above benchmark on Friday.
The surge in Chicago's RBOB differentials follows reports of upsets at multiple refineries in the region. Refiners typically have contractual obligations to supply a certain quantity of products in each trading cycle, so production outages can force them to buy from spot markets to meet the commitments.
Exxon's 250,000 barrel per day Joliet refinery in Illinois has faced multiple issues, including a fire on May 18, since it attempted to restart operations last week following the end of scheduled maintenance.
The Midwest's largest refinery, BP's 435,000 bpd Whiting plant in Indiana, also experienced flaring events on Sunday and Monday, market sources said this week. Refineries typically use their safety flare system when hydrocarbons cannot be normally processed due to start-ups, planned shutdowns or unplanned events at the facility.
In contrast to the RBOB grade, Chicago CBOB gasoline <CBOB-DIFF-MC> fell 9.5 cents to 16 cents a gallon below futures after a seller tried to offer supplies and met with tepid buying appetite, market participants said.
Chicago ultra-low sulfur diesel was marked unchanged at 27.50 cents below the ULSD futures benchmark, they said.
Elsewhere in the Midwest, Group 3 V-grade gasoline <RUV-DIFF-G3> and diesel <ULSD-DIFF-G3> were each little changed from the previous session.
In the U.S. Gulf Coast, trading rolled over to the 31st cycle of gasoline deliveries to New York Harbor on the Colonial pipeline. For distillate deliveries, the roll happens on Wednesday.
Gulf Coast M2 conventional gasoline <RU-DIFF-USG> gained 2.25 cents, trading 10.75 cents below futures, market participants said. 62-grade ULSD <ULSD-DIFF-USG> gained a quarter cent to 6.10 cents a gallon below futures, they said.
In New York Harbor, M2 conventional gasoline <RU-DIFF-NYH> was little changed at 1.25 cents per gallon above futures, traders said. Diesel for delivery in New York Harbor <ULSD-DIFF-NYH> fell quarter of a cent to 1.75 cents a gallon below futures, they said.
RBOB futures fell 2.99 cents to settle at $2.51 a gallon and ULSD futures fell 2.48 cents to $2.4623 a gallon on Tuesday.
Renewable fuel (D6) credits <RIN-D6-US> and biomass-based (D4) credits <RIN-D4-US> for 2024 were unchanged at 53 cents each, traders said.
Latest day
Timing NYMEX Contract Bid Offer Change
U.S. GULF COAST <0#P-USG, PPIM> * Scheduling
A2 CBOB gasoline <CBOB-DIFF-USG> Cycle 31 June RBOB -24.75 -24.25 0.00M2 conventional gasoline <RU-DIFF-USG> Cycle 31 June RBOB -11.00 -10.50 2.25 62-grade ULSD <ULSD-DIFF-USG> Cycle 30 June HO -6.35 -5.85 0.25
54-grade jet fuel <JET-DIFF-USG> Cycle 30 June HO -5.25 -4.75 -0.75
Heating oil <HO-DIFF-USG> Cycle 30 June HO -19.00 -18.50 -0.75
NEW YORK HARBOR <0#P-NYH, PPIL> Bid Offer ChangeM2 conventional gasoline <RU-DIFF-NYH> Prompt June RBOB 1.00 1.50 0.00 F1 RBOB <RBOB-DIFF-NYH> Prompt June RBOB -0.35 -0.15 -0.35
ULSD <ULSD-DIFF-NYH> Prompt June HO -2.00 -1.50 -0.25
Heating oil <HO-DIFF-NYH> Prompt June HO -8.00 -7.50 -0.25
Jet fuel <JET-DIFF-NYH> Prompt June HO 2.75 3.25 -2.25​
MIDWEST <0#P-G3>, <0#P-MC>, Bid Offer Change
Chicago CBOB gasoline <CBOB-DIFF-MC> Cycle 3 June RBOB -16.25 -15.75 -9.50 Chicago ULSD <ULSD-DIFF-MC> Cycle 3 June HO -18.25 -17.75 9.50
Group Three gasoline <RUV-DIFF-G3> June RBOB -22.25 -21.75 -0.50
Group Three ULSD <ULSD-DIFF-G3> June HO -15.25 -14.75 0.00
BP (BP.)