- January 2016 natural gas opened today at $3.57 -- up 15 cents from our last Fuels in Focus.
- Farm Diesel is up 2 cents on the week at an average of $1.90 per gallon.
- February 2016 WTI crude oil opened the day at $52.52 -- up $1.42 from our last report.
- January 2016 Heating oil futures opened the day at $1.64 -- down a penny from our last report.
- Propane is up 3 cents on the week to an average of $1.14 per gallon regionally.
Farm Diesel -- Eight of the twelve states in our weekly farm diesel price survey were unchanged, the rest were all higher. Missouri led gains firming 8 cents per gallon as Kansas added 7 cents. Iowa firmed 4 cents as North Dakota added a penny.
Farm diesel has waived off its annual post-harvest trek lower as market fundamentals have turned bullish. Higher crude oil futures, higher heating oil futures and a forecast for a generally frigid winter are all working to support farm diesel prices. It is easy to make the case that the post-harvest price floor is already in. If that is the case, we need to top off winter supplies and get at least a portion of spring needs booked before diesel gets away from us. For now, we will give farm diesel another week to prove the low is in. A move higher next week will make us buyers of winter and spring diesel.
- Distillate inventories reported by EIA fell 2.4 million barrels to 153.5 mmbbl. Stocks are currently 2.2 mmbbl above the same time last year.
- The regionwide low currently lies at $1.83 in Nebraska and the Midwest high is at $1.95 in South Dakota.
| Farm Diesel 12/22/16 | Three Weeks Ago | Previous Week | Change | Current Week | |
| Iowa | $1.83 | $1.85 | 4 cents | $1.89 | Iowa |
| Illinois | $1.94 | $1.94 | Unchanged | $1.94 | Illinois |
| Indiana | $1.94 | $1.93 | Unchanged | $1.93 | Indiana |
| Wisconsin | $1.92 | $1.92 | Unchanged | $1.92 | Wisconsin |
| Minnesota | $1.88 | $1.92 | Unchanged | $1.92 | Minnesota |
| South Dakota | $1.79 | $1.95 | Unchanged | $1.95 | South Dakota |
| North Dakota | $1.84 | $1.84 | 1 cent | $1.85 | North Dakota |
| Nebraska | $1.77 | $1.83 | Unchanged | $1.83 | Nebraska |
| Missouri | $1.91 | $1.82 | 8 cents | $1.90 | Missouri |
| Kansas | $1.75 | $1.79 | 7 cents | $1.86 | Kansas |
| Ohio | $1.81 | $1.89 | Unchanged | $1.89 | Ohio |
| Michigan | $1.81 | $1.90 | Unchanged | $1.90 | Michigan |
| Midwest Average | $1.85 | $1.88 | 2 cents | $1.90 | Midwest Average |
Propane -- Eight of the twelve states in our propane price survey are unchanged this week with Kansas leading gains, firming 24 cents per gallon as Minnesota and Iowa each added a penny. Missouri softened one cent per gallon.
Still no sign of supply constraints on the propane side, but as the rest of the petroleum sector firms, propane is likely to follow. As with diesel, we remain skeptical that the current rally in crude, home heating fuels and diesel is sustainable but the bearish factors will take some time to impact the fuel markets. As with diesel, we will continue to wait for propane to signal an imperative to book before topping off winter supplies. However, we advised at midsummer to book 100% of your needs for winter propane, and your on-farm supplies should last you until late March.
- According to EIA, last week, national propane inventories softened 3.084 million barrels -- now 5.099 million barrels below the same time last year at 92.539 million barrels.
- The regionwide low is at $0.95 per gallon in The Dakotas and the regionwide high is in Indiana at $1.38.
| LP 12/22/16 | Three Weeks Ago | Previous Week | Change | Current Week | |
| Iowa | $1.00 | $1.02 | 1 cent | $1.03 | Iowa |
| Illinois | $1.22 | $1.21 | Unchanged | $1.21 | Illinois |
| Indiana | $1.49 | $1.38 | Unchanged | $1.38 | Indiana |
| Wisconsin | $1.15 | $1.15 | Unchanged | $1.15 | Wisconsin |
| Minnesota | $1.07 | $1.08 | 1 cent | $1.09 | Minnesota |
| South Dakota | $0.95 | $0.95 | Unchanged | $0.95 | South Dakota |
| North Dakota | $0.95 | $0.95 | Unchanged | $0.95 | North Dakota |
| Nebraska | $0.97 | $1.03 | Unchanged | $1.03 | Nebraska |
| Missouri | $1.15 | $1.16 | -1 cent | $1.15 | Missouri |
| Kansas | $1.07 | $1.07 | 24 cents | $1.31 | Kansas |
| Ohio | $1.10 | $1.10 | Unchanged | $1.10 | Ohio |
| Michigan | $1.25 | $1.27 | Unchanged | $1.27 | Michigan |
| Midwest Average | $1.11 | $1.11 | 3 cents | $1.14 | Midwest Average |
