| The sweet spot for U.S. refiners may get sweeter | |
| | |
|
U.S. refiners have been on a sweet ride and it may get even sweeter. As the price of oil gets cheaper, it costs less to refine the product into gasoline and other fuels. After a brief uptick last month, WTI crude (CLJ15.NYM) resumed its downward spiral to the $43 a barrel level - near a 52 week low. “There is still a good difference between the crude prices and the product prices so it's giving refiners a good margin,” notes Jeff Mower, director, Americas Oil News, a unit of Platts.
While the S&P 500 (^GSPC) is flat for the year, the run-up in refining shares is impressive. Tesoro (TSO) and Valero Energy (VLO) have gained over 20%, while Marathon Petroleum (MPC) is up 10%. These gains may continue says Tim Rudderow, chief investment officer, of Mount Lucas Management. He added to his position in Tesoro and cut back on Valero. “Margins continue to be strong and we like these companies,” he told Yahoo Finance in an email.
Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App
Things may get even better for the industry says Mower, who highlights two upcoming catalysts. “European refiners are actually going to go under heavy maintenance,” and that opens a window for U.S. counterparts he says. “While the U.S. doesn’t really export crude, or exports very small amounts of it, U.S. refiners can export refined products, especially diesel.”
Related: ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance Testifies Before Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on U.S. Crude Oil Export Policy
As European refiners take a maintenance breather, their U.S. counterparts come back online. “In the spring, over the next couple months some refiners are going to come out of maintenance, especially say in the Gulf Coast, and what they are going to do is start running more of that crude.” That may help reduce supplies which hit an 80-year high this week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly report.
More from Yahoo FinanceApple's Dow day; Williams-Sonoma & Michaels have port woes; Tesla car upgrades Oil's "transitory" fall starting to have long-lasting impactSchiff: The Fed is "bluffing," no rate hike in 2015
|
|
|
ConocoPhillips
|
|
|
CODE : COP |
ISIN : US20825C1045 |
|
| |
ProfilIndicateurs de MarchéVALEUR : Projets & res.Communiqués de PresseRapport annuelRISQUE : Profile actifsContactez la cie |
ConocoPhillips est une société de production minière basée aux Etats-Unis D'Amerique. ConocoPhillips est cotée aux Etats-Unis D'Amerique et en Allemagne. Sa capitalisation boursière aujourd'hui est 153,3 milliards US$ (143,3 milliards €). La valeur de son action a atteint son plus bas niveau récent le 31 décembre 1991 à 10,94 US$, et son plus haut niveau récent le 26 avril 2024 à 130,24 US$. ConocoPhillips possède 1 177 107 000 actions en circulation. |