Summary
Crude oil prices in the US, as measured by the WTI benchmark, last traded yesterday at $78 per barrel but started trading this morning at around $79 per barrel.
Wholesale fuel prices collected by DACO on March 1st show wholesale diesel prices standing at $3.39 per gallon on average. We see a reported low of $3.23 per gallon (BVI Gas Inc.) and a high of $3.55 per gallon (Peerless Oil).
Wholesale gasoline prices on average marked around $3.14 per gallon, with a low of $3.06 per gallon (BVI Gas Inc.) and a high of $3.20 per gallon (Toral / Shell).
We noted this morning a $0.30 increase on RBOB gasoline futures price with latest trading at around $2.60 per gallon when compared to yesterday which closed at around $2.31 per gallon. RBOB will typically trade higher in the months of March and April due to switch to summer gasoline specifications in the US. This could imply an increase on local wholesale gasoline prices in the coming days. As a reminder,
RBOB gasoline is blended with ethanol to produce reformulated gasoline. Reformulated gasoline is mandatory in some states, so RBOB accounts for about 30% of the U.S. market.
whereas the RBOB gasoline futures contract has the following specifications,
The price for the RBOB gasoline futures contract is quoted in U.S. dollars and cents. The minimum price tick for RBOB is 0.0001, equivalent to a movement of $4.20 for one contract. The contract unit is for 42,000 gallons or 1,000 barrels. The RBOB gasoline futures contract is settled by physical delivery. This means most investors want to liquidate positions prior to the expiration of the contracts. If a position is not liquidated, the holder of a long contract might be responsible for taking delivery of 42,000 gallons of gasoline.