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Bloomberg
Gasoline declined to the lowest in more than a week as some US Gulf Coast refineries said they plan to resume operations following shutdowns forced by flooding from Hurricane Harvey.
Futures for October delivery lost as much as 4.5 percent in New York after their biggest monthly gain since March last year. While about one-fifth of US refining capacity is halted, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, some plants including those operated by Citgo Petroleum Corp. and Marathon Petroleum Corp. are preparing to restart. The Energy Department also approved the release of 5.3 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Front-month gasoline prices advanced more than 25 percent in August as Harvey slashed processing capacity across Texas, forcing shutdowns of key refineries from Corpus Christi and Houston to Port Arthur, including the largest US fuel-making plant. Oil in New York declined almost 6 percent last month.
“The disruptions from Hurricane Harvey in the US Gulf Coast are gradually clearing,†wrote analysts at JBC Energy GmbH. “In the broader scheme of things, it appears that so far the energy industry was spared major damages to assets and infrastructure.â€
October gasoline futures lost as much as 7.9 cents to $1.6689 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange and were trading at $1.6737 as of 10:09 a.m. London time. The contract dropped to $1.7479.
West Texas Intermediate for October delivery was little changed at $47.32 a barrel, while Brent for November settlement slipped 45 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $52.30 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $4.41 to November WTI.