Crude Oil --
Crude futures found an upward draft during the report week, adding 0.32 to 95.88 -- 3.68 below year-ago pricing. Domestic crude supply was also up, adding 5.9 million barrels to a 369.1 million barrel supply which is 30.01 million barrels over year-ago -- holding crude stocks well above the five-year supply average.
Currently March 2013 WTI Crude up 0.37 to 97.94 -- ranging today from 97.32 to 98.24.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported a spill on the Mississippi River of light crude on Sunday. Cleanup efforts are ongoing and a 16 mile stretch of the river remains closed. Vessels waiting to traverse the stretch are numbering near 60.
Propane --
U.S. propane stocks fell 3.5 million barrels to end at 57.4 million barrels last week, 8.4 million barrels (17 percent) higher than a year ago. Midwest regional inventories dropped by 1.7 million barrels, while Gulf Coast inventories declined by 1.0 million barrels. East Coast stocks dropped by 0.5 million barrels, and stocks in the Rocky Mountain/West Coast region declined by 0.3 million barrels.
Propylene non-fuel-use inventories represented 5.2 percent of total propane inventories.
Distillate --
Distillate supply fell 2.3 million barrels week-over -- shedding 14.8 million barrels year-over. The seasonal drawdown is partially due to cooler weather across the northern plains, but also high export demand.
According to EIA, "Diesel fuel prices have generally declined since October as a result of narrowing distillate crack spreads (measured as the difference between the ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) spot price and the Brent crude oil spot price). On January 28, the average U.S. price for on-highway retail diesel fuel was $3.93 per gallon, 22 cents per gallon lower than its 2012 peak of $4.15 per gallon, reached on October 15.
This price decline is similar to that of gasoline prices. However, unlike gasoline prices, diesel prices during the first month of 2013 have been higher than year-ago levels; this reflects growing global distillate demand, which has spurred increased refinery runs in the United States to increase distillate production for export."
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